!i   inn  luiiiM!! 


!li  I  III  li 

;)!  ii  ))  I 

.\i  litiiiit  I 


iiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiii.ii! 


i' 


^•?' 


LIBRARY    OF    THE    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,     N.    J. 
PRESENTED  BY 

BS  1226  .N6  1840 
Sefer  ha-Yashar. 
The  book  of  Jasher 


4^p^jt.^  /^^^.ip  ^9^^^!n. 


♦  '  <"•  -«^^.• 'sv''".  N   '■"♦..^^  *%-«^.v^     »5%,  .^  tL'%--^ 


CERTIFICATES. 

University  of  New  York,  April,  10,  1840. 
1  have  compared  a  large  portion  of  the  translation  of  the  Book  of  Jasher  with 
the  original  Hebrew,  and  find  it  faithfully  and  eloquently  rendered  into  English. 
The  Hebrew  itself  is  of  a  very  pure  character. 

ISAAC  NORDHIEMER, 

Professor  ov  oriental  literature. 


To  Meesrs.  Noah  and  Gould, 
Gentlemen, 

I  am  acquainted  with  the  Book  of  Jasher,  having  read  a  considerable  part  of 
it  while  in  the  hands  of  the  translator  in  England.  The  Hebrew  is  very  purely 
written,  aud  the  translator  is  an  eminent  scholar  and  has  done  it  ample  justice. 
It  is  full  of  interest  throughout,  and  breathes  a  pure  spirit  of  piety  and  religion, 
and  I  am  satisfied  that  this  is  the  first  English  translation  ever  made  of  that 
work,  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  at  Culcutta  never  having  completed  the  trans- 
lation of  their  copy  as  anticipated. 

April  14,  1840.  H.  V.  NATHAN, 

Minister  of*  the  English  and  German  synagogue, 
Kingston,  Jamaica. 


The  following  letter  is  from  Professor  Turner  an  able  Hebrew  scholar. 

Theological  Seminary,  Chelsea  Square,  N.  Y.,  April  28,  1840. 
Gentlemen, 

Agreeably  to  a  request  made  to  me  yesterday  by  Mr.  Noah,  I  have  sufficiently 
examined  the  English  version  of  the  Rabbinical  work  which  heads  the  title  of  "the 
Book  of  Jasher,"  to  satisfy  myself  of  its  general  correctness.  I  have  carefully 
compared  three  chapters  of  the  translation  with  the  original,  and  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  saying  that  in  general  they  give  a  correct  representation  of  the  author's 
meaning,  and  as  literal  as  the  difTerent  idioms  of  the  two  languages  would  allow. 
In  some  instances  however,  it  would  have  been  desirable  that  every  word  of  the 
Hebrew  should  have  been  rendered  into  English.  For  instance,  in  ch.  i,  v.  2, 
the  translator  has  omitted  the  word  dust,  in  mentioning  man's  formation  "  from 
the  ground,"  and  in  v.  4,  the  literal  version  after  middle  part  would  be  "  and  he 
took  away  one  of  his  ribs  and  built  flesh  upon  it,  and  made  a  woman  and  brought 
her  to  the  man."     In  v.  6  also,  the  Rabbinical  writer  does  not  say  "called  their 


names  Adam  and  Eve,"  but  in  the  very  words  of  the  Hebrew  bible,  v.  2,  "  called 
their  name  Adam."  In  chap,  xx,  v.  4,  the  version  reads  thus;  "  and  the  ser- 
vants of  Abimelech  went  to  Abimelech,  saying,"  in  the  original  it  is  "  and  the 
servants  of  Abimelech  came  and  praised  Sarah  to  the  king,  saying,  &c."  In 
V.  19,  the  name  of  Pharaoh  is  omitted,  and  occasionally  the  word  "  subjects," 
is  substituted  for  "  servants." 

It  is  possible  that  the  translator  made  use  of  a  copy  of  some  other  edition  which 
may  have  varied  in  a  few  words  from  that  examined  by  me.  The  points  referred 
to,  are,  on  the  whole,  unimportant,  and  do  not  detract  from  the  general  accu- 
racy of  the  translation. 

I  am  respectfully. 

Your  obt.  serv't. 

To  Messrs.  Noah  A  Gould,  SAMUEL  H.  TURNER 


The  following  letter  is  from  Professor  Bush  of  New  York. 

New  York,  April  30,  1840. 
Gentlemen, 

I  have  examined  portions  of  several  chapters  of  the  "  Book  of  Jasher"  in  the 
original,  carefully  comparing  with  it  the  translation  put  into  my  hands  by  the 
publishers.  The  work  itself  is  evidently  composed  in  the  purest  Rabbinical  He- 
brew, with  a  large  intermixture  of  the  Biblical  idiom,  and  I  consider  the  trans- 
lation as  a  whole,  not  only  as  decidedly  faithful,  but  as  peculiarly  happy  in  re- 
taining the  air  of  antique  simplicity  which  distinguishes  the  original,  and  which 
constitutes  the  matchless  excellence  of  our  English  version  of  the  Hebrew  Scrip- 
tures. In  a  few  instances  I  have  noticed  slight  verbal  variations  from  the  ori- 
ginal, similar  to  those  adverted  to  by  Prof  Turner,  as  in  one  case  "  choice  of  our 
sepulchres''^  for  "choice  of  our  land  ,-"  but  they  are  of  too  little  moment  to  de- 
tract from  the  character  of  general  fidelity  which  I  do  not  hesitate  to  assign  to 
the  translation. 

Very  respectfully. 

Yours,  &c., 
To  Messrs.  Noah  cj-  Gmdd.  GEO.  BUSH. 


iv^n  nsD 


\'    9    1030 


THE    BOOK    OF   JASHER 


REFERRED    TO    IN 


JOSHUA  AND  SECOND  SAMUEL. 


FAITHFnLLY    TRANSLATED 


FROM   THE    ORIGINAL    HEBREW    INTO    ENGLISH. 


NEW  YORK : 

PUBLISHED  BY  M.  M.  NOAH  &  A.  S.  GOULD, 

AT    144    NASSAU-STREET. 

1840. 


C*/^, 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  forty,  by  Morde- 
cai  M.  Noah  &  Alexander  S.  Gould,  in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Southern  District  of 
New- York. 


ALEX.   S.   GOULD,  TYPOGRAPHER,   144  NASSAU-STREET. 
STEREOTyPED  BY  R.  C.  VALENTINE,  45  GOLD-STREET. 


PREFACE. 


It  is  with  pleasure  that  I  am  able  to  present  to  the  American  public  the 
translation  of  the  Book  of  Jasher,  as  referred  to  in  Joshua  and  Second 
Samuel,  which,  after  several  years'  negotiation  with  the  owner  and  trans- 
lator of  the  work  in  England,  I  have  succeeded  in  obtaining. 

There  are  many  books  named  in  the  Old  Testament,  which  are  now 
classed  among  the  missing  books,  or  books  supposed  to  have  been  lost 
amidst  the  many  revolutions  which  have  occurred  in  Judea.  These  books 
are  not  included  in  the  Jewish  Canons,  and  it  is  questionable  whether  there 
are  any  missing  of  what  were  considered  as  emanating  from  inspired 
writers  ;  for,  when  the  works  enumerated  in  the  Bible  could  not  be  found 
after  the  most  diligent  search,  the  inference  was,  that  the  names  applied 
to  other  books,  or  that  they  were  different  versions  of  the  same  work. 

Thus,  the  Book  of  the  Covenant,  (Exodus  xxiv.  7.)  was  a  mere  collec- 
tion of  the  injunctions  and  institutions  delivered  by  the  Almighty  to  Moses. 
So  it  might  also  be  said  of  the  Book  of  the  Law,  (Deut.  xxxi.  9.)  The 
Book  of  the  wars  of  the  Lord  (Numbers  xxi.  14.)  cannot  be  found,  and 
is  every  where  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  missing  books.  Dr.  Lightfoot,  in 
his  Chronicles,  thinks  that  Moses  refers  to  a  book  of  his  own  compos- 
ing, written  by  command  of  God,  (Exodus  xvii.  14.)  We  think,  however, 
that  the  Book  of  Judges  is  the  one  referred  to  as  the  Book  of  the  wars  of 
the  Lord;  because,  in  that  book  we  have  all  the  exploits  of  the  Hebrews 
detailed  at  length.     We  find  in  Chronicles  and  Kings  a  number  of  books 


IV  PREFACE. 

named,  which  are  not  to  be  found.  The  acts  of  David  the  King,  written 
in  the  Book  of  Samuel  the  Seer,  also  in  the  Book  of  Nathan  the  Prophet, 
and  also  in  the  Book  of  Gad  the  Seer ;  the  acts  of  Solomon  are  in  the 
Book  of  Nathan  the  Prophet,  and  also  in  the  Book  of  Abijah  the  Shulam- 
ite ;  the  acts  of  Rehoboam  in  the  Book  of  Shemaiah  the  Prophet ;  the  acts 
of  Jehoshaphat  in  the  Book  of  Jehu.  The  journals  of  the  kings  of  Judah 
and  Israel  ;  the  three  thousand  and  five  songs,  and  a  treatise  on  botany 
and  animated  nature,  by  this  learned  king,  are  lost ;  so  also  are  the  "Acts 
of  Manasseh."  These  works,  not  having  been  found  by  Ezra,  could  not 
have  been  inserted  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  consequently  cannot  be  con- 
sidered as  having  been  written  by  divine  inspiration.  Nevertheless,  it 
would  be  assuming  more  than  is  required  or  necessary,  to  say  that  there 
were  no  other  books  in  the  time  of  Ezra,  than  those  considered  as  dii'inely 
inspired.  St.  Austin  says,  "  The  penmen  of  the  Sacred  Scripture  writ 
some  things  as  they  are,  men  with  historical  lore  and  diligence  :  other 
things  they  writ  as  prophets,  by  inspiration  from  God."  We  thus  have  a 
classification  of  their  labors,  both  as  historians  and  as  prophets.  The  ne- 
gligence of  the  Jews  in  ancient  days,  and  their  constant  transition  from 
one  country  to  another,  occasioned  many  losses  of  the  sacred  writings. 
The  Book  of  Deuteronomy  was  lost  for  a  long  time.  There  were  many 
books  rejected  by  the  Canons  which  are  still  objects  of  curiosity,  and 
venerable  for  their  antiquity.  The  prayer  of  King  Manasseh,  Bel  and 
the  Dragon,  the  two  Books  of  Esdras,  the  Book  of  the  Maccabees, 
and  the  Book  of  Enoch,  recently  found  and  translated  from  the  Ethiopic. 
The  Book  of  Jasher,  referred  to  in  Joshua  and  Second  Samuel,  has  been 
long  an  object  of  great  curiosity.  Some  of  the  Hebrew  writers  contend 
that  it  was  the  lives  and  acts  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  other 
patriarchs,  who  were  called  Jasherim,  the  Just.  Dr.  Lightfoot  thinks  it 
is  the  Book  of  the  Wars  of  God,  and  so  the  reader  may  think  in  perusing 
the  various  battles  it  recounts.  Grotius  calls  it  a  triumphal  poem.  Jose- 
phus  says,  "  That  by  this  book  cire  to  be  understood  certain  records  kept 
in  some  safe  place  on  purpose,  giving  an  account  of  what  happened  among 
the  Hebrews  from  year  to  year,  and  called  Jasher,  or  the  upright,  on  ac- 
count of  the  fidelity  of  the  annals." 


PREFACE.  y 

It  is  known  that  such  have  been  the  curiosity  and  anxiety  to  discover 
this  missing  book,  that  several  forgeries  under  that  name  have  appeared 
from  time  to  time ;  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Home,  in  his  Introduction  to  the 
Study  of  the  Scripture,  has  been  at  some  pains  to  collect  a  history  of  the 
various  fabrications  of  Jasher;  the  most  remarkable  of  which  was  origi- 
nally published  in  England,  in  the  year  1750,  by  a  person  called  lUivc, 
and  purported  to  be  a  translation  from  a  Hebrew  work  of  that  name, 
found  in  Persia  by  Alcuin.  It  was  republished  in  Bristol  in  the 
year  1829,  and  a  copy  is  now  in  my  possession.  It  is  a  miserable 
fabrication,  occupying  but  sixty  two  and  a  half  pages,  with  copious  notes, 
making  out  Jasher  to  be  one  of  the  Judges,  whereas  the  translation  of  the 
word  is  the  upright,  or  the  upright  record.  In  the  same  work  of  Dr. 
Home,  a  slight  reference  is  made  to  the  Book  of  Jasher,  written  in  Rab- 
binical Hebrew^,  said  to  have  been  discovered  in  Jerusalem  at  its  capture 
under  Titus,  and  printed  in  Venice  in  1613.  This  is  the  book  now  trans- 
lated into  English  for  the  first  time.  Long  prior  to  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  the  Jews  had  established  themselves  in  various  parts  of  Spain 
and  Italy;  they  traded  to  the  bay  of  Gibraltar,  as  historians  affirm,  in  the 
earliest  periods  of  history ;  and  Basnage  mentions  that  in  Sagunto,  a  town 
in  Spain,  a  tombstone  was  discovered,  bearing  the  following  inscription 
in  the  Hebrew  language  :  "  This  is  the  tomb  of  Adoniram,  an  officer  of 
King  Solomon,  who  came  to  collect  the  tribute,  and  died  the  day,^^ 

&c.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Spain,  probably  France  and  Italy,  were 
tributary  to  Solomon.  It  is,  however,  certain,  that  the  Jews  carried  with 
them  into  Spain,  on  their  dispersion,  an  immense  number  of  manuscripts 
and  sacred  rolls,  where  they  remained  many  years,  and  were,  in  the 
eleventh  century,  placed  in  their  great  college  at  Cordova,  and  from 
thence  were  conveyed  to  Venice  on  the  first  discovery  of  printing.  The 
printer's  Hebrew  preface  to  Jasher  shows  that  it  was  a  painful  transcript 
from  a  very  old  and  almost  illegible  Hebrew  record,  and  printed  by  and 
with  the  consent  of  the  great  Consistory  of  Rabbins  at  Venice,  who  alone 
had  the  power  of  publishing  such  works  from  the  Hebrew  records  as 
they  deemed  authentic.     From  the  Venice  edition  of  Jasher,  another  edi- 


VI  PREFACE. 

tion  was  many  years  subsequently  published,  in  Lemberg,  in  Gallicia. 
Both  editions,  in  Hebrew,  are  now  in  my  possession ;  and  the  Royal  Asi- 
atic Society,  having  found  a  copy  of  Jasher  in  Calcutta,  gave  orders  to 
have  it  translated,  which  order  was  countermanded  when  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  considerable  progress  had  been  made  in  England  in  this  trans- 
lation. The  following  copy  of  a  letter  from  the  secretary  to  the  trans- 
lator, shows  the  estimate  which  that  learned  Society  placed  upon  the 
work. 

Royal  Asiatic  Society  House. 
Grafton  St.,  Bond  St.,  London,  Sept.  2,  1831. 
Dear  Sir  : 

I  am  extremely  obliged  by  your  having  favored  me  with  the  sight  of 
Mr.  Noah's  letter,  and  in  reply  to  your  letter,  mention  that  the  Oriental 
Translation  Committee  does  not  consider  that  it  has  any  claims  on  your 
work,  and  if  that  ever  the  Rev.  Mr.  Adams  translates  the  Book  of  Jasher, 
it  will  not  be  in  the  lapse  of  several  years.  Hoping  that  your  praiseworthy 
and  valuable  labors  in  that  interesting  work  will  soon,  in  one  shape  or 
other,  be  presented  to  the  public, 

I  remain,  Dear  Sir, 

Your  obliged  and  ob't  Serv't, 

Wm.  Huttman. 

Whatever  may  have  been  written  and  published  by  commentators,  re- 
lative to  the  fabrications  of  Jasher,  I  am  persuaded  they  had  no  reference 
to  this  work,  although  this  is  the  work  slightly  touched  upon  by  Dr. 
Home,  as  the  publication  in  Venice,  on  the  first  discovery  of  printing;  but 
of  its  origin  and  history  he  knew  nothing  beyond  the  rumor  that  it  had 
originally  been  brouglit  from  Jerusalem.  There  are  some  events  recorded 
in  Jasher,  that  are  found  in  the  Talmud,  no  doubt  copied  from  Jasher ; 
for  although  we  find  in  the  Talmud,  the  Mishnah,  and  Gemarrah,  many 
parables  and  fanciful  tales,  to  eff'ect  moral  and  religious  purposes,  yet 
every  thing  that  we  have  in  Jasher  we  find  recorded  in  the  Bible,  with 
this  difference,  that  in  Jasher  the  occurrences  of  the  Bible  are  amplified  and 
detailed  at  length.     The  celebrated  philosopher,  Mendelsohn,  expresses  a 


PREFACE.  VII 

high  opinion  of  this  work.  There  are,  nevertheless,  some  events  which 
are  recorded  in  Jasher,  which  may  create  surprise,  particularly  a  detail  of 
the  rape  of  the  Sabines,  which,  at  the  first  glance,  I  was  disposed  to  con- 
sider as  an  interpolation ;  but  a  little  reflection  satisfied  me  that  it  was  an 
event  placed  in  proper  chronological  order.  Pizron,  in  his  Revolution  of 
Empires,  or  Antiquities  of  Nations,  says,  (page  164,)  "  It  is  therefore  like- 
ly from  what  I  have  said,  that  several  of  the  Titans,  in  the  reign  of  Ura- 
nus, or,  at  least,  in  that  of  Saturn,  staying  and  fixing  themselves  in  that 
part  of  Ttaly  which  is  adjacent  to  the  Tiber  and  the  Appenines,  were  after- 
ward called  Um.brians.  If  such  were  the  case,  as  it  seems  it  was,  the 
settlement  of  the  Titans  in  Italy  was  made  about  the  time  of  the  calling 
of  Abraham,  that  is,  when  he  left  Chaldea,  to  go  and  dwell  in  the  land  of 
Canaan."  Page  175,  "  Now,  if  all  this  came  to  pass,  it  must  have  hap- 
pened about  the  time  Deucalion  reigned  in  Greece,  or  some  years  after 
the  deluge  that  happened  under  that  prince."  If  as  Pizron  says,  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  Sabines  from  the  Umbrians  took  place  1500  years  before 
Christ,  it  will  not  be  far  distant  from  the  time  at  which  Jasher  places  the 
rape  of  the  Sabine  women,  in  the  91st  year  of  the  life  of  Abraham. 

The  following  is  the  translator's  preface,  and  with  all  his  admitted 
learning  and  ability,  he  has  been  unable  to  do  justice  to  the  beauty,  gran- 
deur, and  alike  the  simplicity  of  the  original  Hebrew.  I  also  subjoin  a 
translation  of  the  Hebrew  preface  and  a  translation  of  the  printer's  pre- 
face, being  all  the  documents  in  my  possession. 

Without  giving  it  to  the  world  as  a  work  of  Divine  inspiration,  or  as- 
suming the  responsibility  to  say  that  it  is  not  an  inspired  book,  I  have 
no  hesitation  in  pronouncing  it  a  work  of  great  antiquity  and  interest,  and 
a  work  that  is  entitled,  even  regarding  it  as  a  literary  curiosity,  to  a  great 
circulation  among  those  who  take  pleasure  in  studying  the  Scriptures. 

M.  M.  Noah. 

New- York,  April,  1839. 


TRANSLATOR'S   PREFACE. 

The  age  in  which  we  live  has  been,  and  continues  to  be,  particularly 
distinguished  by  a  laudable  desire  in  the  minds  of  men,  to  inquire  into  the 
various  slates  of  knowledge,  and  of  the  arts,  as  they  existed  in  times  an- 
terior to  tiie  Christian  era  ;  animated  with  these  noble  and  elevated  views, 
a  considerable  number  of  individuals,  greatly  distinguished  for  their  genius 
and  learning,  have  in  succession  turned  their  attention  to  the  East — to  those 
celebrated  countries,  in  which  the  arts  of  civilization  and  the  lights  of  sci- 
ence first  dawned  upon,  enlightened,  and  embellished  human  society. 
The  magnificent  and  unequalled  remains  of  the  arts  in  Egypt,  Babylonia, 
Assyria,  Palestine,  and  Persia,  have,  from  time  to  time,  been  visited  and 
explored ;  and  it  has  been  amidst  these  fallen  monuments  of  human  gran- 
deur, that  the  adventurous  and  enlightened  traveller  has  found  himself 
amply  rewarded  for  his  laborious  and  hazardous  undertakings  ;  for,  amidst 
these  wrecks  of  human  greatness,  he  has  succeeded  in  gathering  ample 
evidence,  in  confirmation  of  many  of  the  most  important  truths  recorded 
in  sacred  history. 

Profane  histories  have,  indeed,  conveyed  down  to  us  some  account  of 
these  kingdoms,  and  of  the  mighty  monarchs  who,  during  a  long  succes- 
sion of  ages,  ruled  over  them ;  but  the  events  which  they  relate  are  evi- 
dently so  mixed  up  with  exaggeration,  and  so  adulterated  with  fable,  that, 
however  celebrated  their  authors  might  have  been,  and  however  fascinating 
may  be  the  style  of  their  composition,  the  religious  and  philosophic  student 
turns  from  them  with  dissatisfaction,  to  the  divinely  authenticated  annals 
of  the  Hebrews;  because,  it  is  from  these  alone  that  he  can  derive  true 
information  concerning  the  rise,  the  splendour,  the  decline,  and  the  real 
causes  of  the  ruin  of  those  celebrated  empires. 

In  the  sacred  history  we  are  presented  with  the  only  authentic,  and,  of 
course,  the  only  valuable  information  concerning  the  origin  of  the  universe, 
— of  men  and  all  other  animated  creatures, — of  the  gradual  increase  of  the 
human  race, — of  the  flood  in  the  year  A.  M.  1656,  of  which  mighty  event 
there  are  existing  evidences  to  the  present  day  ;  evidences,  so  universal  and 
so  ponderous,  that  all  the  ingenuity  of  the  sceptical  geologists  will  never 
be  able  to  remove  them  in  order  to  make  room  for  their  plausible  hypotheses. 


X  TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE. 

The  ever  memoiable  events  and  transactions  recorded  in  Scripture  are 
with  many  others  of  the  most  interesting  nature,  comprehended  in  the 
Book  of  Jasher ;  and  they  are  all  arrayed  in  that  style  of  simple,  unadorned 
majesty  and  precision,  which  so  peculiarly  distinguishes  the  genius  of  the 
Hebrew  language ;  and  this,  together  with  other  numerous  internal  evi- 
dences, it  is  presumed  will  go  far  to  convince  the  Hebrew  scholar  that  the 
book  is,  with  the  exception  of  some  doubtful  parts,  a  venerable  monument 
of  antiquity ;  and  that,  notwithstanding  some  few  additions  may  have  been 
made  to  it  in  comparatively  modern  times,  it  still  retains  sufficient  to  prove 
it  a  copy  of  the  book  referred  to  in  Joshua,  ch.  x.,  and  2  Samuel,  ch.  i. 
There  are  not  more  than  seven  or  eight  words  in  the  whole  book  that  by 
construction  can  be  derived  from  the  Chaldean  language. 

The  printed  Hebrew  copy,  in  the  hands  of  the  translator,  is  without 
points.  During  his  first  perusal  of  it,  some  perplexities  and  doubts  rose 
up  in  his  mind  respecting  its  authenticity  :  but  the  more  closely  he  studied 
it,  the  more  its  irresistible  evidence  satisfied  him,  that  it  contained  a  trea- 
sure of  information  concerning  those  early  times,  upon  which  the  histories 
of  other  nations  are  either  silent,  or  cast  not  a  single  ray  of  real  light ;  and 
he  was  more  especially  delighted  to  find  that  the  evidence  of  the  whole 
of  its  contents  went  to  illustrate  and  confirm  the  great  and  inestimable 
truths  which  are  recorded  in  divine  history,  down  to  a  few  years  later  than 
the  death  of  Joshua,  at  which  period  the  book  closes. 

In  this  extraordinary  book,  the  reader  will  meet  with  models  of  the  most 
sublime  virtue,  devotion  and  magnanimity,  that  cannot  fail  to  raise  his 
admiration,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  excite  a  generous  feeling  of  emula- 
tion to  follow  the  glorious  examples  set  before  him. 

With  these  preliminary  observations,  the  translator  now  respectfully 
proceeds  to  lay  before  the  readers  a  few  remarks  upon  the  contents  of  the 
book.  The  title  "|tJ'^1  *lt3D  i^  literally,  "  the  upright  or  correct  record  ;" 
but  because  the  book  was  not  known,  it  was  therefore  termed  the  "  Book 
of  Jasher ;''  this  has  caused  some  persons,  who  are  ignorant  of  the  He- 
brew language,  to  suppose  that  Jasher  was  the  name  of  a  prophet,  or  of 
one  of  the  Judges  of  Israel ;  an  instance  of  which  appears  in  a  publication 
which  came  from  the  press  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  and  which 
purported  to  have  been  a  translation  into  English  of  the  Hebrew  manu- 
script of  Jasher,  found  at  Gazna  in  Persia;  which  translation  only 
was  said  to  have  been  thence  brought  by  Alcuin.  When  the  translator 
wrote  to  the  Editor  of  the  London  Courier,  in  November  last,  he  was  not 
aware  that  the  copy  of  Jasher,  announced  in  the  Bristol  Gazette  as  an 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE.  XI 

important  discovery,  had  reference  to  that  fictitious  book,  which,  through 
the  kindness  of  a  friend,  he  had  previously  obtained  a  sight  of,  and  was 
soon  convinced  that  the  whole  book  was  the  work  of  some  sceptic  in 
England,  in  imitation  of  the  language  of  Scripture,  as  it  was  sent  forth 
from  the  press  without  the  name  of  printer,  bookseller,  editor  or  pub- 
hsher ;  and  it  is  evident  that  those  who  were  concerned  in  getting  it  up, 
in  making  Jasher  the  name  of  a  Judge  of  Israel  were  ignorant  of  the 
very  rudiments  of  the  language,  from  which  they  pretended  to  have 
translated  it,  as  it  is  well  known,  even  to  a  tyro  in  the  Hebrew  language, 
that  the  definite  article,  H  is  never  prefixed  to  proper  names. 

The  important  transactions  which  are  narrated  with  so  remarkable  a 
brevity  in  the  Bible,  are,  in  Jasher,  more  circumstantially  detailed  ;  as  in 
the  instance  of  the  murder  of  Abel  by  his  brother  Cain,  a  particular  ac- 
count is  given  of  the  disagreement  which  preceded  it,  and  of  the  pretext 
which  Cain  sought  for  the  commission  of  the  crime.  It  appears,  also, 
that  when  the  divine  judgment  condemned  him  to  wander  upon  the  earth, 
his  wife  accompanied  him,  not  to  the  land  of  Nod,  for  no  such  place  is 
mentioned  ;  but,  from  this  book  it  appears  that  the  word  Nod,  in  the  Scrip- 
ture, has  been  given  for  the  participle  of  the  verb  '^"^J  "  to  move  or  wander 
about.     Jasher  has  it  thus  : 

n  1^1  •  atr  n\n  x'X  oipon  p  rr\rv  0£)So  N\nrT  nr::  \''p  nv^i 

'h  nt^♦^<  hy\  Nin  p^  it:ip  pxa  "ni:i 

"  And  at  that  time  Cain  went  forth  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  from 
the  place  where  he  was ;  and  he  went  moving  and  wandering  in  the  land 
at  the  east  of  Eden,  he  and  all  belonging  to  him." 

In  the  passage  respecting  the  birth  of  Cain  and  Abel,  three  daughters 
are  also  mentioned.  According  to  Jasher,  the  art  of  writing  appears  to 
have  been  known  and  practised  from  the  earliest  periods ;  it  is  stated 
that  Cainanwas  informed  beforehand  by  God,  of  the  intended  destruction 
of  mankind  by  the  flood,  which  he  engraved  upon  tablets  of  stone,  and 
preserved  amongst  his  treasures. 

This  book  contains  a  more  detailed  account  of  the  awful  circumstances 
attending  the  commencement  of  the  flood,  and  of  the  conduct  of  Noah  to- 
ward the  terrified  multitude  who  had  assembled  about  the  ark,  when  the 
fatal  moment  had  arrived,  and  their  doom  was  irrevocably  fixed. 

A  particular  delineation  of  the  life  and  character  of  Enoch  is  given, 
showing,  that  by  his  wisdom  he  reigned  over  the  sons  of  men,  continually  in 
strucling  them  in  truth,  righteousness,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  Most  High. 


Xn  TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE. 

Jasher  informs  us,  that  in  the  days  of  Peleg,  not  only  the  famih'es  of  the 
human  race  were  separated  and  spread  abroad,  but  that  the  earth  itself 
was  divided  ;  and  of  both  these  facts,  it  may  be  presumed,  there  are  suffi- 
cient existing  evidences,  even  at  this  day.  This  book  gives,  also,  a  more  de- 
tailed account  of  the  genealogies  of  the  descendants  of  Japheth,  Shem,  and 
Ham,  and  of  the  various  parts  of  the  earth  which  w^ere  colonized  by  them. 

Connected  with  this  period  of  the  history  is  given  an  account  of  Nim- 
rod ;  in  which  is  strikingly  depicted  the  arbitrary  and  violent  character  of 
his  conduct  and  government.  The  contested  point,  as  to  whether  Nimrod 
was  the  founder  of  the  Assyrian  Empire,  is  here  decided.  The  cause 
of  the  dispute  amongst  commentators  proceeded  from  the  word  ")^J^K 
in  Gen.  chapter  x.  ver.  11,  signifying  either  the  name  of  a  man,  or  the 
name  of  the  land  of  Assyria.     Jasher  has  it  thus  : 

"  And  Asher,  the  son  of  Shem,  went  forth,  he  and  his  sons,  and  the 
children  of  his  household,  &c.,  and  they  there  built  four  cities." 

Jasher  clearly  elucidates  a  number  of  genealogical  and  chronological 
difficulties,  which  occur  in  the  Bible  ;  an  instance  is  here  adduced  of  the 
genealogy  of  Seir,  the  Horite,  upon  which  the  Bible  is  silent. 

The  learned  commentator,  Aben  Ezra,  remarks,  ^DIH*  l^i^l^  is?  *l*^C 
"  Seir,  his  genealogy  we  do  not  know  ;"  and  the  word  ♦Tdn  is  supposed 
to  come  from  ^IH  a  noble  ;  but  Jasher  gives  us  the  descent  of  Seir, 
(which  accounts  for  his  being  called  the  Horite,)  in  the  following  words  : 

fl^^D  p  nn  p  -iin  p  n^;;^  ^^') 

"  And  Seir,  the  son  of  Hur,  the  son  of  Hivi,  the  son  of  Canaan,  went," 
&c.  ;  hence  he  was  called  the  Horite,  from  Hur,  his  father. 

The  character  of  Abraham,  for  piety,  true  dignity  and  hospitality,  ap- 
pears to  stand  unrivalled  ;  but  the  most  affecting  and  beautiful  account  in 
this  book,  is  that  of  Abraham  offering  up  his  son  Isaac.  The  mutual 
affection  of  the  father  and  son,  and  their  willing  devotion  and  obedience  to 
the  commands  of  their  Maker,  are  so  exquisitely  described,  that  the  heart 
of  him  who  can  peruse  the  narrative  without  being  deeply  affected,  must  be 
callous  indeed.  The  conduct  of  Sarah,  as  connected  with  this  unexampled 
and  glorious  event,  was  altogether  worthy  of  the  wife  of  Abraham,  and  the 
mother  of  Isaac.  At  this  time  Sarah  died  at  Kireath-arba.  Her  funeral 
is  described  as  having  been  magnificent;  and  it  is  expressly  mentioned,  that 
it  was  attended  by  Shem,  the  son  of  Noah,  Eber  his  son,  king  Abimelech, 
together  with  Anar,  Ashcol  and  Mamre,  and  other  great  people  of  the  land. 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE.  xill 

In  the  Bible,  Sarah  is  the  only  woman  whose  age  is  given  at  her  death  ; 
but  it  may  be  interesting  to  the  reader  to  know,  that  Jasher  generally  states 
the  ages  of  all  the  women  who  are  particularly  mentioned  in  the  course  of 
the  history. 

From  this  book  we  learn  that  Noah  and  Abraham  were  contemporaries. 
How  beautiful  the  contemplation  of  the  meeting  of  these  two  Patriarchs, 
the  one  being  a  monument  of  God's  mercy,  and  the  other  having  the  pro- 
mise of  the  favour  and  grace  of  God,  not  only  to  himself,  but  to  his  seed 
after  him.  This  fact  might  be  proved  from  Scripture  ;  but  from  the  32d 
verse  in  the  11th  chapter  of  Genesis,  most  of  the  Christian  commentators 
have  erroneously  dated  the  birth  of  Abraham  60  years  later  than  it  actually 
took  place  ;  as  it  is  generally  stated  that  he  was  born  A.  M.  2008,  whereas 
the  regular  calculation  in  the  Bible  leads  us  to  60  years  earlier,  viz.  1948. 
The  only  cause  of  this  error  has  been  that  Abraham's  departure  from 
Haran,  at  the  age  of  75,  is  recorded  close  to  the  description  of  the  death 
of  Terah,  at  the  age  of  205,  in  Gen.  ch.  xi.  v.  32.  Although  this  is  the 
frequent  manner  of  Scripture,  to  record  events  out  of  the  regular  order  of 
succession,  (an  instance  of  which  we  find  in  Isaac,  whose  death  is  recorded 
in  Gen.  xxxv.  29,  when  we  know  from  the  calculations  given  us  in  Scripture, 
that  Isaac's  death,  must  have  taken  place  when  Joseph  was  about  29  years 
old  ;  and  the  description  given  in  Jasher,  of  Isaac's  coming  from  Hebron  to 
comfort  Jacob  upon  the  loss  of  Joseph,  is  beautiful,)  it  is  of  great  im- 
portance, in  its  making  a  difference  of  60  years  in  the  chronology  of  the 
world. 

This  book  gives  a  particular  account  of  the  instruction  received  by 
Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  from  Shem  and  Eber,  through  which  they 
became  so  excellent  in  piety  and  wisdom,  their  tutors  in  learning  having 
lived  to  so  great  an  age  ;  and  Shem  particularly,  who,  being  acquainted 
with  all  that  was  known  before  the  flood,  could  therefore  strengthen  his 
precepts  of  virtue,  the  true  worship  of  God,  and  the  necessary  dependance 
upon  him  alone,  by  recording  the  awful  events  which  he  had  seen. 

The  history  of  Joseph  has  always  been  considered  one  of  the  most 
admirable  and  interesting  on  record.  It  is  composed  in  a  style  of  simple 
and  artless  eloquence,  which  touches  every  feeling  heart.  A  judicious 
critic  has  observed,  that  he  considers  it  a  perfect  composition.  This 
history,  in  Jasher,  enters  more  into  detail  concerning  the  affairs  of  Potiphar's 
wife,  Zelicah  ;  Joseph's  magnificent  procession  through  the  cities  of  Egypty 
on  coming  into  power  ;  the  pomp  with  which  he  was  attended  by  Pharaoh's 
chariots,  officers,  and  people,  when  he  went  up  to  meet  his  father ;  the 


XIV  TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE. 

affecting  scene  which  then  took  place,  together  with  other  remarkable 
incidents.  This  beautiful  narrative  might  justly  be  entitled,  the  triumph  of 
virtue  and  piety  ;  and  it  is  presumed  that  few  can  peruse  it,  unmoved  by 
sentiments  of  the  highest  admiration,  mixed  with  the  deepest  feelings  of 
sympathy.  The  history  of  the  Israelites  during  their  sojourning  in  Egypt, 
contains  an  account  of  many  interesting  particulars  not  noticed  in  the 
Bible.  Toward  the  latter  end  of  this  period,  Balaam,  Job,  Jannes,  and 
Jambres,  appear  to  have  acted  their  respective  parts  in  some  memorable 
transactions. 

This  book  clears  up  the  reference  in  2  Samuel,  ch.  i.,  by  showing  that 
David,  in  the  commencement  of  his  beautiful  elegy  on  the  death  of  Saul 
and  Jonathan,  revived  an  injunction  given  by  Jacob  in  his  dying  charge 
to  his  son  Judah,  contained  in  Jasher  in  these  words  : 

*'*  But  teach,  I  pray  thee,  thy  children  the  use  of  the  bow,  and  all  in- 
struments of  war,"  &c.  This  goes  far  to  prove  the  authenticity  of  the 
book,  as  it  beautifully  clears  up  what  was  always  considered  obscure. 

If  commentators  upon  the  holy  Scriptures  have  sought  for  illustrations 
in  the  works  of  Homer,  Pliny,  Herodotus,  and  other  profane  writers  ;  if 
they  have  anxiously  caught  at  glimmerings  among  the  absurdities  of  Pa- 
ganism, and  the  obscurities  of  Heathen  fables,  the  translator  humbly  and 
respectfully  hopes  that  they  will  now  grant  a  favorable  reception  to  evi- 
dence of  an  entirely  opposite  character,  which  is  presented  in  the  Book  of 
Jasher. 

He  does  not  recommend  it  to  their  notice  as  a  work  of  inspiration,  but 
as  a  monument  of  history,  comparatively  covered  with  the  ivy  of  the  re- 
motest ages  ;  as  a  work  possessing,  in  its  language,  all  the  characteristic 
simplicity  of  patriarchal  times  ;  and  as  such,  he  conceives  it  peculiarly 
calculated  to  illustrate  and  confirm  the  sacred  truths  handed  down  to  us  in 
the  Scriptures. 

But  in  making  these  observations,  he  is  far  from  offering  it  as  a  perfect 
record.  Like  all  other  ancient  writings,  (except  the  inspired  volume,)  it 
has  in  some  respects  suffered  from  the  consuming  hand  of  time  ;  and  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  some  additions  have  been  made  to  it.  In  fine,  it 
contains  a  history  of  the  lives  and  memorable  transactions  of  all  the  illus- 
trious characters  recorded  in  sacred  history,  from  Adam  dowm  to  the  time 
of  the  Elders,  who  immediately  succeeded  Joshua. 


TRANSLATION  OF  THE  HEBREW  PREFACE. 

THIS    BOOK    IS    THAT    WHICH    IS    CALLED    THE    UPRIGHT    BOOK. 


It  has  at  this  lime  been  ascertained  by  us  that  when  the  holy  city  Je- 
rusalem was  destroyed  by  Titus,  all  the  military  heads  went  in  to  rob  and 
plunder,  and  that  amongst  the  officers*  of  Titus  was  one  whose  name  was 
Sidrus,  who  went  in  to  search,  and  found  in  Jerusalem  a  house  of  great 
extent,  and  took  away  all  the  spoils  which  he  found  there  ;  when  he  wished 
to  go  out  of  the  house,  he  looked  at  the  wall  and  fancied  that  he  saw  trea- 
sures there,  so  he  broke  down  the  wall  and  the  building  and  found  a  cask 
full  of  various  books  of  the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Hagiographa,t  also 
books  of  the  kings  of  Israel,  and  of  the  kings  of  other  nations,  as  well  as 
many  other  books  of  Israel,  together  with  the  books  of  the  Mishnah 
adopted  and  established  ;  many  rolls  were  also  lying  there  ;  he  also  found 
there  all  sorts  of  provision  and  wine  in  abundance,  and  discovered  an  old 
man  sitting  there,  who  was  reading  in  those  books.  When  the  officer  saw 
this  great  sight  he  was  greatly  astonished,  and  said  to  the  old  man,  why  dost 
thou  sit  alone  in  this  place,  without  any  person  remaining  with  thee  ?  So 
the  old  man  answered,  for  many  years  past  was  I  aware  of  this  second 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  so  I  built  this  house  and  made  for  myself  a  bal- 
cony,J  and  I  brought  with  me  these  books  to  read,  and  I  brought  also 
sufficient  provision,  thinking  thereby  to||  save  my  life. 

And  God  caused  the  old  man  to  find  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the  officer,  who 
brought  him  forth  with  respect  with  all  his  books,  and  they  went  from  city 
to  city  and  from  country  to  country  until  they  reached  Sevilia ;  and  the 
officer  found  that  this  old  man  was  possessed  of  wisdom  and  understand- 
ing and  acquainted  with  various  kinds  of  science,  upon  discovering  which 
he  raised  and  honored  him,  was  constantly  in  his  house  and  was  taught  by 
him  all  sorts  of  wisdom,  and  they  built  for  themselves  a  lofty  and  capacious 
house  in  the  suburbs  of  Sevilia  and  placed  there  all  those  books. 

This  house  is  yet  in  Sevilia  unto  this  day,  and  they  wrote  there  all  the 
events  that  would  hereafter  take  place  amongst  the  kings  of  the  world  unto 
the  coming  of  our  Messiah. 

*  |ioJn  Buxton  gives  this  word    "  episcopus"  which,  besides  a  bishop,  means  also  a  lieu- 
tenant, overseer,  superintendant.     See  Arach. 
t  Psalms,  Proverbs,  &c. 

t  n"1^D^«  or  porch,  a  Talmudical  word  derived  from  the  Greek.     See  Arach. 
II  See  Jeremiah  38  2,  the  same  expression. 


xvi  HEBREW  PREFACE. 

And  it  came  to  pass  that  when  God  carried*  us  away  with  a  mighty 
captivity  by  the  hands  of  the  kings  of  Edom,  from  city  to  city  and  from 
country  to  country  in  bitter  anxiety,  this  book,  called  "  The  Generations  of 
Adam"  together  with  other  books  came  into  our  hands,  for  they  came  from 
that  house  in  Sevilia,  and  they  came  afterward  to  our  city  Napuli,  which 
city  is  under  the  sway  of  the  king  of  Spain,  (whose  glory  may  be  exalted.) 
And  when  we  saw  these  books,  that  they  were  books  of  all  wisdom,  we 
resolved  in  our  minds  to  print  them  like  all  the  books  that  came  to  our 
hands.  Now  this  book  is  the  best  and  most  valuable  of  all,  and  of  this 
book  twelve  copies  have  reached  us,  and  we  searched  in  them  and  found 
them  all  of  one  copy,  there  was  no  difference,  nothing  added  and  nothing 
deficient,  nor  any  alteration  in  letters,  words  or  events,  for  they  were  all 
alike  as  it  were  of  one  copy. 

Since,  therefore,  we  saw  in  this  book  great  merit  urging  us  to  this  re- 
solve, we  are  determined  to  print  it — and  it  is  found  written  that  this  book 
is  called  the  Book  Jasher,  because  all  its  transactions  are  in  that  order 
as  they  had  taken  place  in  the  world  as  regards  priority  and  succession, 
for  thou  wilt  not  find  in  this  book  any  postponement  of  events  that  were 
anterior,  or  priority  of  those  that  were  posterior,  but  every  thing  is  re- 
corded in  its  place  and  time. 

Thou  wilt  thus  find  that  it  relates  the  death  of  such  a  one  at  the  particu- 
lar time  of  the  life  of  another  and  thus  throughout.  Owing  to  this  it  was 
called  Sepher  Hajashar,  but  it  is  customary  to  call  it  the  Generations  of 
Adam,  the  reason  of  which  is  that  they  call  it  by  that  with  which  it  com- 
mences, but  the  chief  name  thereof  is  the  book  "  Jasher"  owing  to 
the  reasons  we  have  assigned.  Now  it  is  found  that  this  book  is  translated 
into  Greek,  entitled  "  Lo  lihris  de  los  divitiis," 

It  is  also  found  written  in  the  book  of  the  Asmoneans  which  has  come 
down  to  us,  that  in  the  days  of  Ptolemy  king  of  Egypt,  he  ordered  his 
servants  to  go  and  gather  all  the  books  of  laws,  and  all  the  books  of 
Chronicles  which  they  could  find  in  the  world,  so  that  he  might  become 
wise  through  them,  and  by  examining  them  become  acquainted  with  the 
subjects  and  events  of  the  world,  and  to  compile  from  them  a  book  in  all 
matters  of  jurisdiction  regarding  the  affairs  of  life,  thereby  to  exercise  pure 
justice.  So  they  went  and  collected  for  him  nine  hundred  and  sixty  five 
books  and  brought  to  him,  when  he  commanded  them  to  go  again  and 
seek  to  complete  the  number  of  a  thousand  books,  and  they  did  so.  After 
this,  some  of  the  persecutors  of  Israel  stood  up  before  him  and  said,  O 
king,  whv  wilt  thou  trouble  thyself  in  this  manner?  Send  to  the  Jews  in 
Jerusalem  that  they  shall  bring  unto  thee  the  book  of  their  law  which  was 
written  for  them  from  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  by  their  Prophets,  from 
which  thou  mayest  become  wise,  and  regulate  all  judgments  and  laws  ac- 
cording to  thy  desire  ;  so  the  king  hearkened  to  their  words,  and  sent  to 
the  Jews  upon  this  matter,  who  sent  to  him  this  book,  for  they  could  not 
give  unto  him  the  book  of  the  Lord,  for  they  said,  we  cannot  give  the  law 

*  See  same  expression,  Isaiah  22.  17. 


HEBREW  PREFACE.  XVII 

of  the  Lord  to  a  stranger.  Now  when  this  book  came  to  tlie  hands  of 
Ptolemy  he  read  it  and  it  pleased  him  greatly,  and  he  searched  therein 
in  his  wisdom,  and  he  examined  it  and  found  therein  what  he  had  desired, 
and  he  neglected  all  the  other  books  which  they  had  collected  for  him, 
and  he  blessed  him  who  had  advised  him  to  this  thing. 

After  some  time  the  persecutors  of  Israel  became  aware  of  this,  that 
the  Israelites  had  not  sent  the  book  of  the  law  to  the  king,  and  they 
came  and  said  unto  him,  0  king,  the  Israelites  have  treated  thee  with  con- 
tempt, for  they  did  not  send  to  thee  the  book  of  the  law  which  we  had 
mentioned  to  thee,  but  they  sent  to  thee  another  book  which  they  had  in 
their  hands,  therefore  send  to  them  that  they  may  forward  unto  thee  the 
book  of  their  law,  for  from  that  book  thou  wilt  obtain  thy  desire  mucli 
more  than  from  the  book  which  they  have  sent  to  thee  ;  so  when  the  king 
heard  their  words  he  became  exceedingly  wroth  against  the  Israelites,  and 
his  anger  burned  within  him  until  he  sent  again  to  them  for  them  to  for- 
ward to  him  the  book  of  the  law.  Fearing  that  they  might  still  continue 
to  scorn  him,  he  acted  prudently  with  them  and  sent  to  seventy  of  their 
elders  and  placed  them  in  seventy  houses,  that  each  should  write  the 
book  of  the  law,  so  that  no  alteration  might  be  found  in  them,  and  the 
divine  spirit  rested  upon  them,  and  they  wrote  for  him  seventy  books  and 
they  were  all  of  one  version,,  without  addition  or  diminution.  At  this  the 
king  rejoiced  greatly  and  he  honored  the  elders,  together  with  all  the 
Jews,  and  he  sent  offerings  and  gifts  to  Jerusalem  as  it  is  written  there.* 
At  his  death,  the  Israelites  acted  cunningly  with  his  son  and  took  from 
his  treasures  the  book  of  the  law,  but  left  this  book  there  and  look  it  not 
away,  in  order  that  every  future  king  might  know  the  wonders  of  the 
Lord,  blessed  be  his  name,  and  that  he  had  chosen  Israel  from  all  nations, 
and  that  there  is  no  God  beside  him. 

This  book  is  therefore  in  Egypt  unto  this  day,  and  from  that  time  it 
became  circulated  throughout  the  earth,  until  it  reached  us  in  our  captivity 
this  day  in  the  city  of  Napuli,  which  is  under  the  rule  of  the  king  of  Spain. 
Now  thou  wilt  find  in  this  book  that  some  of  the  kings  of  Edom,  of  Chit- 
tim  and  the  kings  of  Africa  who  were  in  those  days,  are  mentioned, 
although  it  might  appear  that  such  was  not  the  aim  or  intent  of  this  book  ; 
but  the  reason  of  this  was  to  show  to  every  person  obtaining  this  book 
the  contrast  between  the  wars  of  Israel  and  the  wars  of  the  Gentiles,  for  the 
conquest  of  Gentile  kings  one  over  the  other  was  by  accident,  which  is  not  so 
in  the  conquest  of  the  kings  of  Israel  over  the  Gentiles,  which  is  by  a  miracle 
from  our  blessed  Lord  as  long  as  the  Israelites  trust  in  his  exalted  name. 

Now  the  uses  of  this  book  are  many,  all  of  which  lead  us  to  confidence 
in  God,  (whose  name  be  exalted,)  and  to  our  adherence  unto  him  and  his 
ways. 

The  first  use  is  the  additional  information  it  affords  us  upon  the  sub- 
jects of  the  creation  of  man  and  the  deluge,  recording  also  the  years  of  the 
twenty  generations  and  their  misdeeds  ;  also  at  what  period  they  were 

*  la  the  book  of  the  Asmoneans  mentioned  above. 

B 


xvill  HEBREW  PREFACE. 

born,  and  when  they  died,  by  which  means,  our  hearts  may  be  inclined 
to  adhere  to  the  Lord,  when  we  see  the  mighty  works  which  he  per- 
formed in  days  of  old. 

The  second  use  is  in  the  additional  account  respecting  the  birth  of  Abra- 
ham and  how  it  was  that  he  cleaved  to  the  Lord,  and  the  transactions  that 
took  place  between  him  and  Nimrod ;  and  thus  also  of  the  account  of  the 
builders  of  the  tower  of  Babel,*  how  that  the  Lord  drove  them  to  the  four 
corners  of  the  earth,  and  how  they  established  the  countries  and  lands 
called  after  their  names  unto  this  day,  by  which  means  we  may 
draw  nigh  to  our  Creator.  The  third  use  is  the  explanation  it  gives 
us  how  the  patriarchs  adhered  to  the  Lord,  and  of  their  transactions 
which  convince  us  of  their  fear  of  God.  The  fourth  use  is,  in  what  it 
records  of  the  affairs  of  Sodom  and  the  iniquities  of  its  people,  and  in 
what  consisted  their  sins,  as  well  as  their  punishment,  by  which  means 
we  may  refrain  from  all  evil  doings.  The  fifth  use  is  in  the  account  of 
the  faith  of  Isaac  and  Jacob  in  the  Lord,  and  the  prayers  and  weeping  of 
Sarah  at  the  binding  of  Isaac /or  a  sacrifice,  which  is  of  great  use  in  in- 
clining our  hearts  to  the  service  of  the  Lord.  The  sixth  use  is  in  the  in- 
formation it  affords  us  upon  the  subject  of  the  wars  of  the  sons  of  Jacob 
with  the  people  of  Shechem  and  the  seven  cities  of  the  Amorites.  This 
will  rouse  our  hearts  to  faith  in  our  God  ;  for  how  could  ten  men  destroy 
seven  cities,  if  their  hearts  had  not  been  impressed  with  faith  in  the  Lord  ? 

The  seventh  use  is,  in  the  information  it  gives  us  of  all  the  events  that 
happened  to  Joseph  in  Egypt,  with  Potiphar  and  his  wife  and  with  the 
king  of  Egypt,  for  this  will  also  rouse  our  hearts  to  the  fear  of  the  Lord, 
and  to  remove  ourselves  from  all  sin,  so  that  it  may  be  well  with  us  in  the 
latter  end. 

The  eighth  use  is  in  the  account  it  furnishes  us  of  what  happened  to 
Moses  in  Gush  and  in  Midian,  by  which  we  may  understand  the  wonders 
of  the  Lord  which  he  performs  for  the  righteous,  and  that  we  may  thereby 
adhere  to  him.  The  ninth  use  is- in  its  recording  what  had  happened  to 
the  Israelites  in  Egypt,  and  when  the  commencement  of  their  servitude 
took  place,  and  how  they  served  the  Egyptians  in  all  manner  of  hard  work, 
and  to  what  purpose  all  this  tended — how  after  this  God  was  favorable  to 
them  through  their  trusting  in  him,  and  there  is  no  doubt  of  this  that  he 
who  reads  the  events  of  Egypt  from  this  book  on  the  nights  of  the  Pass- 
over, will  receive  a  great  reward,  as  our  Rabbins  of  blessed  memory  say, 
he  that  is  occupied  in  relating  the  exit  from  Egypt  is  to  be  praised,  in 
which  this  book  is  included,  for  this  is  the  true  narration  which  ought  to 
be  read  after  the  Hagadah,  for  such  person  (reading  this)  may  be  assured 
that  he  will  be  greatly  rewarded  ;  we  do  so  this  day  in  our  captivity  in  the 
countries  of  Spain,  after  having  finished  reading  the  Hagadah,  we  com- 
mence reading  in  this  book  the  whole  affair  of  Egypt,  from  the  Israelites 
going  down  to  Egypt  unto  their  exit,  for  in  this  book  a  person  ought  to 

*  Called  n;i'7Cn  in  because  the  earth  was  then  divided. 


HEBREW  PREFACE.  xix 

read.  The  eleventh*  use  is,  thai  some  of  the  comments  of  our  Rabbles 
and  of  other  commentators  who  have  explained  the  law,  thou  wilt  find 
illustrated  in  this  book,  such  as  the  account  of  the  messengers  who  met 
Jacob!  when  he  came  from  Mesopotamia  after  they  had  gone  to  Esau, 
also  the  account  of  Gabriel  who  taught  Joseph  seventy  languages,  also 
the  illustration  it  affords  of  him|  who  smote  Midian  in  the  fields  of  Moab, 
and  the  like.  The  twelfth  use  is,  that  every  person  lecturing  in  public 
may  bring  forward  in  his  discourse,  subjects  from  this  book,  which  the 
commentators  have  not  explained,  by  which  means  he  may  make  an  im- 
pression upon  the  hearts  of  his  audience.  The  thirteenth  use  is,  that  all 
merchants  and  travellers,  who  have  an  opportunity  to  study  the  law,  may 
read  this  book  and  receive  their  reward,  for  therein  is  the  reward  of  the 
soul  as  well  as  the  delight  of  the  body,  in  the  discovery  of  new  matter  not 
recorded  in  any  other  book,  and  by  these  means  will  man  understand  to 
know  the  Lord  and  cleave  unto  him. 

Now  because  we  have  seen  the  merit  of  this  book,  and  the  great  use- 
fulness thereof,  we  have  undertaken  to  print  it  without  addition  or  diminu- 
tion, and  from  this  time  we  have  commenced  to  print  it  in  a  book,  that 
such  books  may  be  in  the  hands  of  the  members  of  our  covenant,  the  men 
of  our  captivity  in  order  that  it  may  be  farther  circulated  throughout  every 
generation,  and  every  city,  family  and  country,  so  that  they  may  under- 
stand the  wonders  of  the  Lord  which  he  performed  for  our  ancestors,  and 
his  bounties  toward  them  from  the  days  of  old,  aiid  that  he  chose  us  from 
all  nations.  May  they  who  devote  their  hearts  to  the  fear  of  the  Lord, 
be  rendered  meritorious  by  studying  therein  whilst  we  confide  in  the  Lord, 
the  God  of  Gods,  and  depend  upon  him  and  seek  salvation  and  assistance 
from  him,  in  this  heavenly  work,  and  may  he  prosper  us  in  the  right  path, 
and  deliver  us  from  errors,  and  cleanse  us  from  secret  faults,  as  his  an- 
ointed said,  "  who  can  understand  his  errors  ?  cleanse  thou  me  from 
secret  faults.''''^  May  God  teach  us  the  good  way  and  direct  us  in  a  pros- 
perous path  for  the  sake  of  his  mercies  and  kindnesses,  and  may  he  gra- 
ciously fulfil  the  desires  of  our  hearts,  Amen,  and  so  be  his  will. 

*  The  eleventh  use. — I  cannot  see  any  mention  of  the  tenth  use  ;  this  must  have  been 
omitted,  I  think,  before  the  words  above,  "  how  after  this  God  was  favourable  to'  them  through 
their  trusting  in  him." 

+  See  the  latter  part  of  ch.  31. 

t  The  obscure  passage  in  Genesis,  36.  35.  in  the  Bible,  is  cleared  up  in  Jasher,  ch.  62, 
where  it  gives  a  long  history  of  Hadad,  the  son  of  Bedad. 

«J  Psalms,  19.  12. 


THE  PRINTER'S  PREFACE. 


The  humble  worm,  and  no  man,  Joseph,  son  to  my  father,  the  wise  and 
highly  respected  in  Israel,  Samuel  the  little  one,  says,  my  witness  is  in 
heaven  and  my  testimony  is  on  high,  the  God  of  Gods  knows,  and  Israel 
knows  also,  how  much  fatigue  I  have  undergone,  and  how  much  trouble 
I  have  taken  until  I  had  brought  to  light  the  hidden  treasures  of  this  book ; 
for  ever  since  I  was  driven  from  my  land,  from  the  metropolis  of  Israel, 
the  great  city  of  wise  men  and  scribes,  the  renowned  city  of  Pasia,  ever 
since  the  Lord,  through  my  great  offences,  has  driven  me  with  a  violent 
captivity,  one  stumbling  after  the  other,  he  weakened  my  strength  in  the 
way,  the  iron  entered  my  soul  until  I  reached  the  Italian  harbor,  the  royal 
city  Livorno  (Leghorn,)  which  is  under  the  sway  of  our  Lord  the  most 
serene  Grand  Duke  Don  Ferdinand  de  Media  (Medici  Qu  ?)  for  neither 
by  day  nor  by  night  could  I  remain  silent,  I  was  continually  in  thought, 
my  soul  was  humbled  in  me,  and  sleep  was  removed  from  mine  eyes, 
when  I  reflected  how  energetically  my  father,  the  crown  of  my  head, 
strove  with  his  purse  and  labor  to  transcribe  this  book,  as  was  his  con- 
stant custom  from  his  love  of  the  study  of  the  Law,  to  lavish  money  and 
wealth,  principal  and  interest,  for  the  purchase  and  the  transci'ibing,  for 
my  own  use,of  books  without  end,  in  order  that  I  might  obtain  wisdom  and 
instruction,  to  comprehend  the  words  of  understanding,  as  all  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  my  city  can  testify  and  declare  ;  (0  God  remember  him  favor- 
ably to  rest  in  glory  with  the  righteous  who  are  in  the  garden  of  Eden, 
Amen  !  for  this  loss  is  felt  only  by  me,)  especially  in  the  transcribing  of 
this  book  it  is  holy  for  praises  to  the  Lord,  for  there  was  never  seen  nor 
found  but  one,  which  the  intelligent  and  pious  scribe  Jacob,  the  son  of 
Atiyah,  transcribed  from  a  very  old  manuscript,  the  letters  of  which  were 
defaced ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  consummate  ability  of  the  above 
mentioned  Rabbi,  no  other  person  could  have  made  out  those  letters,  nor 
have  transcribed  them,  from  their  antiquity  and  from  their  having  been 
defaced. 

Now  my  father,  of  blessed  memory,  found  favor  in  his  eyes,  to  obtain 
this  book  on  loan,  in  order  that  he  might  also  get  one  transcribed  by  the 
hands  of  a  certain  scribe,  and  in  the  year  5373,*  through  my  great  sins, 
I  went  out  of  the  pale  of  my  birth  place,  and  from  my  father's  house, 
owing  to  the  terrors  of  famine,  pestilence  and  slaughter.     The  sword  de- 

*  Conesponding  with  the  year  1613. 


Xxil  PRINTER'S  PREFACE. 

stroyed  from  without,  and  within  was  the  terror  of  pestilence  and  famine, 
on  account  of  the  battles  and  contentions  which  took  place  between  the 
sons  of  the  old  king  Maruccus  who  had  died,  for  each  lifted  himself  up, 
saying,  I  will  reign,  and  they  devoured  the  Israelites  with  open  mouth, 
so  that  very  few  remained  of  them,  even  a  tithe  of  a  tithe  ;  many  famihes 
and  heads  of  the  houses  of  their  fathers  were  lost  and  destroyed  and  be- 
came as  naught ;  many  books  of  various  kinds,  new  and  old,  some  in 
manuscript  and  others  in  print,  as  well  as  those  of  modern  limes,  were 
mostly  destroyed  by  fire,  or  were  torn  to  pieces,  which,  together  with  their 
owners,  lie  hid  under  the  ruins  to  this  day.  Woe  to  the  eyes  that  beheld  this  ! 
yet  may  the  name  of  the  Lord  be  blessed  for  the  evil  as  well  as  for  the  good. 

Fearing  that  this  book  might  share  the  same  fate  as  the  others,  I  daily 
used  the  most  persevering  exertions  in  sending  letters  to  some  particular 
individuals  in  the  city  Argilia,  in  the  city  Titu,  and  in  the  city  Pasia,  to 
such  as  had  been  left,  humbly  beseeching  them  to  search  and  inquire 
where  might  be  the  place  of  the  glory  of  this  book,  and  it  was  sought  after 
and  found  to  be  hid  in  the  hands  of  one  of  the  individuals  of  the  congrega- 
tion, the  wise  and  highly  gifted  Moses  Chasan  ;  and  thanks  are  due  to  him, 
that  upon  his  ascertaining  my  good  intention  to  print  it  and  to  scatter  it 
throughout  all  Jewish  communities,  he  did  not  delay  to  send  it,  as  he  felt 
a  desire  for  a  heavenly  reward  for  this  pious  act,  yea,  he  sent  it  to  me  as 
a  gift,  may  he  receive  a  blessing  from  the  Lord,  and  may  his  reward  be 
perfect.     Amen. 

Now  I  in  my  humble  station  have  composed  a  work  entitled  viDV  HiinD 
in  two  parts,  one  part  containing  some  of  the  scriptural  comments  which 
I  made  with  the  gracious  help  of  the  Lord,  and  the  second  part  containing 
fifty  lectures  which  I  delivered  to  a  great  congregation,  besides  a  later 
comment  containing  explanations  of  parts  of  the  Talmud  which  I  met 
with  in  the  course  of  my  studies,  and  which  I  illustrated  according  to  my 
humble  abilities  ;  now  I  am  revising  this  work  a  second  time  in  order  to 
bring  it  to  the  press,  if  heaven  spare  my  life,  yet  I  said  to  my  heart,  to 
thee,  0  worm,  and  no  man,  does  the  scripture  proclaim  "  It  is  time  for 
thee,  0  Lord,  to  work,  for  they  have  made  void  thy  law,"  for  the  printing 
of  this  book  of  Jasher  tends  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  the  Lord,  for  through 
it  will  the  hearts  of  men  be  directed  to  cleave  to  the  blessed  Lord,  and 
by  the  means  of  which  they  will  understand  the  wonderful  works  of  God, 
and  his  bounties  toward  our  ancestors  from  the  days  of  old,  and  how  he 
chose  us  from  all  nations,  as  thou  wilt  see  at  length  in  the  preface,  where- 
in thou  wilt  perceive  enumerated  the  great  many  uses,  thirteen  in  num- 
ber, which  induce  men  to  confide  in  the  Lord  and  to  adhere  to  him. 

I  have  also  found  another  use  therein,  which  is,  that  many  parts  of  the 
five  books  difficult  of  comprehension,  and  which  the  commentators  have 
been  unable  to  reconcile,  are,  by  means  of  this  book,  properly  understood, 
because  it  gives  a  detail  of  those  parts,  wherein  the  sacred  volume  is 
brief  in  its  account,  and  relates  events  as  they  occurred ;  thou  wilt  there- 
fore find  me  lifting  up  my  hand  in  the  margin  with  the  words  •^'^^^^  ^DK 
"  The  humble  editor  says,''  by  which  will  be  understood  what  I  have  as- 


PRINTER'S  PREFACE.  XXIII 

serted  ;  search  and  thou  will  find  many  things  also,  which  our  Rabbies  in 
their  works  gave  in  short,  are  brought  forth  more  fully  in  this  book  since 
it  is  high  time  now  to  act  and  have  a  care  for  the  glory  of  God's  name. 
Since  then  it  is  proper  for  me  at  present  to  defer  the  publication  of  my 
above  mentioned  work  until  I  shall  first  have  brougiit  to  light  the  hidden 
treasures  of  this  book  and  to  reveal  them  to  the  world,  I  am  confident  that 
with  the  help  of  the  Lord  all  Israel  will  exult  and  rejoice  therein. 

I  have  therefore  put  my  trust  in  the  Lord,  may  he  remember  me  favor- 
ably, that  I  may  be  enabled  in  the  next  year  by  his  help  and  decree  to 
publish  also  my  afore  mentioned  work. 

As  for  me,  my  prayer  is  to  him  who  dwells  on  high,  may  the  Lord  God 
assist  me,  and  send  me  from  on  high  his  peace,  favor,  and  faithfulness  to 
help  me,  that  he  may  lead  me  beside  the  still  waters,  and  conduct  me  to 
the  paths  of  righteousness  for  the  sake  of  his  great  name,  and  for  the  sake 
of  his  law.     Amen  for  ever  and  ever. 


'^c>^■^  nsD 


THE    BOOK   OF   JASHER 


THIS  IS  THE  BOOK  OF  THE  GENERATIONS  OF  MAN  WHOM  GOD  CREATED 

UPON  THE  EARTH  ON  THE  DAY  WHEN  THE  LORD  GOD  MADE 

HEAVEN  AND  EARTH. 


CHAPTER  I. 

1.  And  God  said  let  us  make  man 
in  our  image,  after  our  likeness,  and 
God  created  man  in  his  own  image. 

2.  And  God  formed  man  from  the 
ground,  and  he  blew  into  his  nostrils 
the  breath  of  life,  and  man  became 
a  living  soul  endowed  with  speech. 

3.  And  the  Lord  said  it  is  not 
good  for  man  to  be  alone ;  I  will 
make  unto  him  a  helpmate. 

4.  And  the  Lord  caused  a  deep 
sleep  to  fall  upon  Adam,  and  he  slept, 
and  he  took  away  one  of  his  ribs, 
and  he  built  flesh  upon  it  and  form- 
ed it  and  brought  it  to  Adam,  and 
Adam  awoke  from  his  sleep,  and  be- 
hold a  woman  was  standing  before 
him. 

5.  And  he  said,  this  is  a  bone  of  my 
bones  and  it  shall  be  called  woman, 
for  this  has  been  taken  from  man  ; 
and  Adam  called  her  name  Eve,  for 
she  was  the  mother  of  all  living. 

6.  And  God  blessed  them  and 
called  their  names  Adam  and  Eve  in 
the  day  that  he  created  them,  and 

I 


the   Lord  God  said,  be  fruitful  and 
multiply  and  fill  the  earth. 

7.  And  the  Lord  God  took  Adam 
and  his  wife,  and  he  placed  them  in 
the  garden  of  Eden  to  dress  it  and 
to  keep  it ;  and  he  commanded  them 
and  said  unto  them,  from  every  tree 
of  the  garden  you  may  eat,  but  from 
the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil  you  shall  not  eat,  for  in  the 
day  that  you  eat  thereof  you  shall 
surely  die. 

8.  And  when  God  had  blessed 
and  commanded  them  he  went  from 
them,  and  Adam  and  his  wife  dwelt 
in  the  garden  according  to  the  com- 
mand which  the  Lord  had  command- 
ed them. 

9.  And  the  serpent,  which  God 
had  created  with  them  in  the  earth, 
came  to  them  to  incite  them  to  trans- 
gress the  command  of  God  which  he 
had  commanded  them. 

10.  And  the  serpent  enticed  and 
persuaded  the  woman  to  eat  from 
the  tree  of  knowledge,  and  the  wo- 
man hearkened  to  the  voice  of  the 
serpent,   and   she   transgressed  the 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


word  of  God,  and  took  from  the  tree 
of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil 
and  slie  ate,  and  she  took  from  it 
and  gave  also  to  her  husband  and  he 
ate. 

1 1 .  And  Adam  and  his  wife  trans- 
gressed the  command  of  God  which 
he  commanded  them,  and  God  knew 
it,  and  his  anger  was  kindled  against 
them  and  he  cursed  them, 

12.  And  the  Lord  God  drove  them 
that  day  from  the  garden  of  Eden, 
to  till  the  ground  from  which  they 
were  taken,  and  they  went  and  dwelt 
at  the  east  of  the  garden  of  Eden  ; 
and  Adam  knew  his  wife  Eve  and  she 
bore  two  sons  and  three  daughters. 

13.  And  she  called  the  name  of 
the  first  born  Cain,  saying,  I  have 
obtained  a  man  from  the  Lord,  and 
the  name  of  the  other  slie  called  Abel, 
for  she  said,  in  vanity  we  came  into 
the  earth  and  in  vanity  we  shall  be 
taken  from  it. 

14.  And  the  boys  grew  up  and 
their  father  gave  them  a  possession 
in  the  land ;  and  Cain  was  a  tiller 
of  the  ground,  and  Abel  a  keeper  of 
sheep. 

15.  And  it  was  at  the  expiration 
of  a  few  years,  that  they  brought  an 
approximating  offering  to  the  Lord, 
and  Cain  brought  from  the  fruit  of 
the  grotmd,  and  Abel  brought  from 
the  firstlings  of  his  flock  from  the  fat 
thereof,  and  God  turned  and  inclined 
to  Abel  and  his  offering,  and  a  fire 
came  down  from  the  Lord  from 
heaven  and  consumed  it. 

16.  And  unto  Cain  and  his  offer- 
ing the  Lord  did  not  turn,  and  he 
did  not  incline  to  it,  for  he  had 
brought  from  the  inferior  fruit  of  the 
ground  before  the  Lord,  and  Cain 
was  jealous  against  his  brother  Abel 
on  account  of  this,  and  he  sought  a 
pretext  to  slay  him. 


17.  And  in  some  time  after,  Cain 
and  Abel  his  brother  went  one  day 
into  the  field  to  do  their  work  ;  and 
they  were  both  in  the  field,  Cain 
tilling  and  ploughing  his  ground, 
and  Abel  feeding  his  flock  ;  and  the 
flock  passed  that  part  which  Cain 
had  ploughed  in  the  ground,  and  it 
sorely  grieved  Cain  on  this  account. 

18.  And  Cain  approached  his  bro- 
ther Abel  in  anger,  and  he  said  unto 
him,  what  is  there  between  me  and 
thee  that  thou  comest  to  dwell  and 
bring  tJiy  flock  to  feed  in  my  land  ? 

19.  And  Abel  answered  his  bro- 
ther Cain  and  said  unto  him,  what 
is  there  between  me  and  thee,  that 
thou  shah  eat  the  flesh  of  my  flock 
and  clothe  thyself  with  their  wool  ? 

20.  And  now  therefoT'e,  put  off 
the  wool  of  my  sheep  with  which 
thou  hast  clothed  thyself,  and  recom- 
pense 7ne  for  their  fruit  and  flesh 
which  thou  hast  eaten,  and  when 
thou  shalt  have  done  this,  I  will  then 
go  from  thy  land  as  thou  hast  said  ?' 

21.  And  Cain  said  to  his  brother 
Abel,  surely  if  I  slay  thee  this  day, 
who  will  require  thy  blood  from  me  ? 

22.  And  Abel  answered  Cain, 
saying,  surely  God  who  has  made  us 
in'the  earth,  he  will  avenge  my  cause, 
and  he  will  require  my  blood  from 
thee  shouldst  thou  slay  me,  for  the 
Lord  is  the  judge  and  arbiter,  and  it 
is  he  who  will  requite  man  according 
to  his  evil,  and  the  wicked  man  ac- 
cording to  the  wickedness  that  he 
may  do  upon  earth. 

23.  And  now,  if  thou  shouldst 
slay  me  here,  surely  God  knoweth 
thy  secret  views,  and  will  judge  thee 
for  the  evil  which  thou  didst  declare 
to  do  unto  me  this  day. 

24.  And  when  Cain  heard  the 
words  which  Abel  his  brother  had 
spoken,    beheld  the  anger  of  Cain 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


was  kindled  against  his  brother  Abel 
for  declaring  this  thing. 

25.  And  Cain  hastened  and  rose 
up,  and  took  the  iron  part,  of  his 
ploughing  instrument,  with  which  he 
suddenly  smote  his  brother  and  he 
slew  him,  and  Cain  spilt  the  blood 
of  his  brother  Abel  upon  the  earth, 
and  the  blood  of  Abel  streamed  upon 
the  earth  before  the  flock. 

26.  And  after  this  Cain  repented 
having  slain  his  brother,  and  he  was 
sadly  grieved,  and  he  wept  over  him 
and  it  vexed  him  exceedingly. 

27.  And  Cain  rose  up  and  dug  a 
hole  in  the  field,  wherein  he  put  his 
brother's  body,  and  he  turned  the 
dust  over  it. 

28.  And  the  Lord  knew  what  Cain 
had  done  to  his  brother,  and  the  Lord 
appeared  to  Cain  and  said  unto  him, 
where  is  Abel  thy  brother  that  was 
with  thee  ? 

29.  And  Cain  dissembled,  and 
said,  I  do  not  know,  am  I  my  bro- 
ther's keeper  ?  And  the  Lord  said 
unto  him,  what  hast  thou  done  ?  The 
voice  of  thy  brother's  blood  crieth 
unto  me  from  the  ground  where  thou 
hast  slain  him. 

30.  For  thou  hast  slain  thy  brother 
and  hast  dissembled  before  me,  and 
didst  imagine  in  thy  heart  that  I  saw 
thee  not,  nor  knew  all  thy  actions. 

31.  But  thou  didst  this  thing  and 
didst  slay  thy  brother  for  naught  and 
because  he  spoke  rightly  to  thee^  and 
now,  therefore,  cursed  be  thou  from 
the  ground  which  opened  its  mouth 
to  receive  thy  brother's  blood  from 
thy  hand,  and  wherein  thou  didst 
bury  him. 

32.  And  it  shall  be  when  thou 
shalt  till  it,  it  sliall  no  mare  give  thee 
its  strength  as  in  the  beginning,  for 
thorns  and  thistles  shall  the  ground 
produce,  and  thou  sbalt  be  moving 


and  wandering  in  the  earth*  until  the 
day  of  thy  death. 

33.  And  at  that  time  Cain  went 
out  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord 
from  the  place  where  he  was,  and  he 
went  moving  andt  wandering  in  the 
land  towards  the  east  of  Eden>  he 
and  all  belonging  to  him. 

34.  And  Cain  knew  his  wife  in 
those  days,  and  she  conceived  and 
bare  a  son,  and  he  called  his  name 
Enoch,  saying,  in  that  time  the  Lord 
began  to  give  him  rest  and  quiet  in 
the  earth. 

35.  And  at  that  time  Cain  also  be- 
gan to  build  a  city  :  and  he  built  the 
city  and  he  called  the  name  of  the 
city  Enoch,  according  to  the  name 
of  his  son  ;  for  in  those  days  the 
Lord  had  given  him  rest  upon  the 
earth,  and  he  did  not  move  about 
and  wander  as  in  the  beginning. 

36.  And  Irad  was  born  to  Enoch, 
and  Irad  begat  Mechuyael  and  Me- 
chuyael  begat  MethusaeL 

CHAPTER  IL 

1.  And  it  was  in  the  hundred  and 
thirtieth  year  of  the  life  of  Adam 
upon  the  earth,  that  he  again  knew 
Eve  his  wife,  and  she  conceived  and 
bare  a  son  in  his  likeness  and  in  his 
image,  and  she  called  his  name  Seth, 
saying,   because   God  has  appointed 

*  Although  we  find  in  the  34th  and  35th  ver- 
ses that  God  gave  hfm  rest,  ii;  might  only  have 
been  a  temporary  rest ;  and  as  we  are  neither 
told  in  scripture  nor  in  this  book  anything  more 
relating  to  Cain,  we  cannot  infer  anything  con- 
trary to  this  declaration. 

i  There  is  no  mention  made  of  the  land  of 
Nod ;  the  word  here  used  is  tj  the  partfc-i- 
ple  present  of  the  verb  n)j  to  wander  ;  the  last 
letter  of  those  verbs  whose  two  final  letters  are 
similar,  is  sometimes  dropped,  and  it  might  have 
been  ii>  with  one  daleth,  like  the  word  used  in 
scripture  ij  without  the  vau,  which  is  frequent- 
ly omitted. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


me  another  seed  in  the  place  of  Abel, 
for  Cain  has  slain  him. 

2.  And  Seth  lived  one  hundred 
and  five  years,  and  he  begat  a  son  ; 
and  Seth  called  the  name  of  his  son 
Enosh,  saying,  because  in  that  time 
the  sons  of  men  began  to  multiply, 
and  to  afflict  their  souls  and  hearts 
by  transgressing  and  rebelling  against 
God. 

3.  And  it  was  in  the  days  of  Enosh 
that  the  sons  of  men  continued  to 
rebel  and  transgress  against  God,  to 
increase  the  anger  of  the  Lord  against 
the  sons  of  men. 

4.  And  the  sons  of  men  went  and 
they  served  other  Gods,  and  they 
forgot  the  Lord  who  had  created 
them  in  the  earth  :  and  in  those  days 
the  sons  of  men  made  images  of  brass 
and  iron,  wood  and  stone,  and  they 
bowed  down  and  served  them. 

5.  And  every  man  made  his  God 
and  they  bowed  down  to  them,  and 
the  sons  of  men  forsook  the  Lord  all 
the  days  of  Enosh  and  his  children  ; 
and  the  anger  of  the  Lord  was  kin- 
dled on  account  of  their  works  and 
abominations  which  they  did  in  the 
earth. 

6.  And  the  Lord  caused  the  wa- 
ters of  the  river  Gihon  to  overwhelm 
them,  and  he  destroyed  and  consu- 
med them,  and  he  destroyed  the  third 
part  of  the  earth  ;  and  notwithstand- 
ing this,  the  sons  of  men  did  not  turn 
from  their  evil  ways,  and  their  hands 
were  yet  extended  to  do  evil  in  the 
sight  of  the  Lord. 

7.  And  in  those  days  there  was 
neither  sowing  nor  reaping  in  the 
earth  ;  and  there  was  no  food  for  the 
sons  of  men  and  the  famine  was  very 
great  in  those  days. 

8.  And  the  seed  which  they  sowed 
in  those  days  in  the  ground  became 
thorns,  thistles  and  briers  ;  for  from 


the  days  of  Adam  was  this  declara- 
tion concerning  the  earth,  of  the 
curse  of  God,  which  he  cursed  the 
earth,  on  account  of  the  sin  which 
Adam  sinned  before  the  Lord. 

9.  And  it  was  when  men  conti- 
nued to  rebel  and  transgress  against 
God,  and  to  corrupt  their  ways,  that 
the  earth  also  became  corrupt. 

10.  And  Enosh  lived  ninety  j'ears 
and  he  begat  Cainan  ; 

11.  And  Cainan  grew  up  and  he 
was  forty  years  old,  and  he  became 
wise  and  had  knowledge  and  skill  in 
all  wisdom,  and  he  reigned  over  all 
the  sons  of  men,  and  he  led  the  sons 
of  men  to  wisdom  and  knowledge  ; 
for  Cainan  was  a  very  wise  man  and 
had  understanding  in  all  wisdom, 
and  with  his  wisdom  he  ruled  over 
spirits  and  daemons ; 

12.  And  Cainan  knew  by  his  wis- 
dom that  God  would  destroy  the  sons 
of  men  for  having  sinned  upou  earth, 
and  that  the  Lord  would  in  the  lat- 
ter days  bring  upon  them  the  waters 
of  the  flood. 

13.  And  in  those  days  Cainan 
wrote  upon  tablets  of  stone,  what 
was  to  take  place  in  time  to  come, 
and  he  put  tliem  in  his  treasures. 

14.  And  Cainan  reigned  over  the 
whole  earth,  and  he  turned  some  of 
the  sons  of  men  to  the  service  of 
God. 

15.  And  when  Cainan  was  sev- 
enty years  old,  he  begat  three  sons 
and  tw^o  daughters. 

16.  And  these  are  the  names  of 
the  children  of  Cainan  ;  the  name  of 
the  first  born  Mahlallel,  the  second 
Enan,  and  the  third  Mered,  and  their 
sisters  were  Adah  and  Zillah  ;  these 
are  the  five  children  of  Cainan  that 
were  born  to  lu?n. 

17.  And  Lamech,  the  son  of  Me- 
thusael,  became  related  to  Cainan  by 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


marriage,  and  he  took  liis  two  daugh- 
ters for  his  wives,  and  Adah  con- 
ceived and  bare  a  son  to  Lamech, 
and  she  called  his  name  Jabal. 

18.  And  she  again  conceived  and 
bare  a  son,  and  culled  his  name  Jii- 
bal ;  and  Ziilah,  her  sis-tor,  was  bar- 
ren in  those  days  and  had  no  off- 
spring. 

19.  For  in  those  days  the  sons  of 
men  began  to  trespass  against  Cxod, 
and  to  transgress  the  commandments 
which  he  had  commanded  to  Adam,  to 
be  fruitful  and  multiply  in  the  earth. 

20.  And  some  of  the  sons  of  men 
caused  their  wives  to  drink  a  draught 
that  would  render  them  barren,  in 
order  that  they  might  retain  their 
figures  and  whereby  their  beautiful 
appearance  might  not  fade. 

21.  And  when  the  sons  of  men 
caused  some  of  their  wives  to  drink, 
Ziilah  drank  with  them. 

22.  And  the  child-bearing  women 
appeared  abominable  in  the  sight  of 
their  husbands,  as  widows,  whilst 
their  husbands  lived,  for  to  the  bar- 
ren ones  only  they  were  attached. 

23.  And  in  the  end  of  days  and 
years,  when  Ziilah  became  old,  the 
Lord  *opened  her  womb. 

24.  And  she  conceived  and  bare  a 
son  and  she  called  his  name  Tubal 
Cain,  saying,  after  I  had  withered 
away  have  I  obtained  him  from  the 
Almighty  God. 

25.  And  she  conceived  again  and 
bare  a  daughter,  and  she  called  her 
name  Naamah,  for  she  said,  after  I 
had  withered  away  have  I  obtained 
pleasure  and  delight. 

26.  And  Lamech  was  old  and  ad- 

*  It  cannot  be  supposed  that  they  gave  Zii- 
lah the  drink  to  cause  barrenness  when  she  be- 
came old,  for  as  it  is  expressed  in  verse  twenty, 
it  was  given  to  those  to  retain  their  figures  and 
whereby  theix  beautiful  appearance  might  not 
fade. 


vanced  in  years,  and  his  eyes  were 
dim  that  he  could  not  see,  and  Tubal 
Cain,  his  son,  was  leading  him,  and 
it  was  one  day  that  Lamech  went  in- 
to the  field  and  Tubal  Cain  his  son 
was  with  him,  and  whilst  they  were 
walking  in  the  field,  Cain  the  son  of 
Adam  advanced  towards  them  ;  for 
Lamech  was  very  old  and  could  not 
see  much,  and  Tubal  Cain  his  son 
was  very  young. 

27.  And  Tubal  Cain  told  his  fa- 
ther to  draw'  his  bow,  and  with  the 
arrows  he  smote  Cain,  who  was  yet 
far  off,  and  he  slew  him,  for  he  ap- 
peared to  them  to  be  an  animal. 

28.  And  the  arrows  entered  Cain's 
body  altliouizh  he  was  distant  from 
them,  and  he  fell  to  the  ground  and 
died. 

29.  And  the  Lord  requited  Cain's 
evil  according  to  his  wickedness, 
which  he  had  done  to  his  brother 
Abel,  according  to  the  word  of  the 
Lord  which  he  had  spoken. 

30.  And  it  came  to  pass  when 
Cain  had  died,  that  Lamech  and  Tu- 
bal went  to  see  tlie  animal  which 
they  had  slain,  and  they  saw,  and  be- 
hold Cain  their  grandfather  was  fal- 
len dead  upon  the  earth. 

31.  And  Lamech  was  very  much 
grieved  at  having  done  this,  and  in 
clapping  his  hands  together  he  struck 
his  son  and  caused  his  death. 

32.  And  the  wives  of  Lamech 
heard  what  Lamech  had  done,  and 
they  sought  to  kill  him. 

33.  And  the  wives  of  Lamech  ha- 
led him  from  that  day,  because  ho 
slew  Cain  and  Tubal  Cain,  and  the 
wives  of  Lamech  separated  from 
him,  and  would  not  hearken  to  him 
in  those  days. 

34.  And  Lamech  came  to  his 
wives,  and  he  pressed  them  to  listen 
to  him  about  this  matter. 


6 


tME  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


35.  And  he  said  to  his  wives 
Adah  and  Zillah,  hear  my  voice  O 
wives  of  Lamech,  attend  to  my 
words,  for  now  you  have  imagined 
and  said  that  1  slew  a  man  with  my 
wounds,  and  a  child  with  my  stripes 
for  their  having  done  no  violence, 
but  surely  know  that  I  am  old  and 
greyheaded,  and  that  my  eyes  are 
heavy  through  age,  and  I  did  this 
thing  unknowingly. 

36.  And  the  wives  of  Lamech 
listened  to  him  in  this  matter,  and 
they  returned  to  him  with  the  advice 
of  their  father  Adam,  but  they  bore 
no  children  to  him  from  that  time, 
knowing  that  God's  anger  was  in- 
creasing in  those  days  against  the 
sons  of  men,  to  destroy  them  with 
the  waters  of  the  flood  for  their  evil 
doings. 

37.  And  Mahlallel  the  son  of  Cai- 
nan  lived  sixty  five  years  and  he  be- 
gat Jered  ;  and  Jered  lived  sixty -two 
years  and  he  begat  Enoch. 

CHAPTER  III. 

1.  And  Enoch  lived  sixty-five 
years  and  he  begat  Methuselah ; 
and  Enoch  walked  with  God  after 
having  begot  Methuselah,  and  he 
served  the  Lord,  and  despised  the 
evil  ways  of  men. 

2.  And  the  soul  of  Enoch  was 
wrapped  up  in  the  instruction  of  the 
Lord,  in  knowledge  and  in  under- 
standing ;  and  he  wisely  retired  from 
the  sons  of  men,  and  secreted  him- 
self from  them  for  many  days. 

3.  And  it  was  at  the  expiration  of 
many  years,  whilst  he  was  serving 
the  Lord,  and  praying  before  him  in 
his  house,  that  an  angel  of  the  Lord 
called  to  him  from  Heaven,  and  he 
said,  here  am  L 

4.  And  he  said,  ris^,  go  forth  from 


thy  house  and  from  the  place  where 
thou  dost  hide  thyself,  and  appear  to 
the  sons  of  men,  in  order  that  thou 
may  St  teach  them  the  way  in  which 
they  should  go,  and  the  work  which 
they  must  accomplish  to  enter  in  the 
ways  of  God. 

5.  And  Enoch  rose  up  according 
to  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and  went 
forth  from  his  house,  from  his  place 
and  from  the  chamber  in  which  he 
was  concealed ;  and  he  went  to  the 
sons  of  men  and  taught  them  the 
ways  of  the  Lord,  and  at  that  time 
assembled  the  sons  of  men  and  ac- 
quainted them  with  the  instruction 
of  the  Lord. 

6.  And  he  ordered  it  to  be  pro- 
claimed in  all  places  where  the  sons 
of  men  dwelt,  saying,  where  is  the 
man  who  wishes  to  know  the  ways 
of  the  Lord  and  good  works  ?  let 
him  come  to  Enoch. 

7.  And  all  the  sons  of  men  then 
assembled  to  him,  for  all  who  desired 
this  thing  went  to  Enoch,  and  Enoch 
reigned  over  the  sons  of  men  accor- 
ding to  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and 
they  came  and  bowed  to  him  and 
they  heard  his  word. 

8.  And  the  spirit  of  God  was  upon 
Enoch,  and  he  taught  all  his  men  the 
wisdom  of  God  and  his  ways,  and 
the  sons  of  men  served  the  Lord  all 
the  days  of  Enoch,  and  they  came 
to  hear  his  wisdom. 

9.  And  all  the  kings  of  the  sons  of 
men,  both  first  and  last,  together 
with  their  princes  and  judges,  came 
to  Enoch  when  they  heard  of  his 
wisdom,  and  they  bowed  down  to 
him,  and  they  also  required  of  Enoch 
to  reign  over  them,  to  which  he  con- 
sented. 

10.  And  they  assembled  in  all,  one 
hundred  and  thirty  kings  and  princes, 
and   they   made   Enoch   king   over 


THE  BOOK  OF  JAS'HER 


'>7 


them,  and   they  were  all  under  his 
power  and  command. 

11.  And  Enoch  taught  them  wis- 
dom, knowledge,  and  the  ways  of  the 
Lord  ;  and  lie  made  peace  amongst 
them,  and  peace  was  throughout  the 
earth  during  the  life  of  Enoch. 

12.  And  Enoch  reigned  over  the 
sons  of  men  two  hundred  and  forty- 
three  years,  and  he  did  justice  and 
righteousness  with  all  his  people,  and 
he  led  them  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord. 

13.  And  these  are  the  generations 
of  Enoch ;  Methuselah,  Elisha,  and 
Elimelech,  three  sons  ;  and  their  sis- 
ters loere  Melca  and  Nahmah,  and 
Methuselah  lived  eighty-seven  years 
and  he  begat  Lamech. 

14.  And  it  was  in  the  fifty-sixth 
year  of  the  life  of  Lamech  when 
Adam  died  ;  nine  hundred  and  thirty 
years  old  was  he  at  his  death,  and 
his  two  sons,  with  Enoch  and  Me- 
thuselah his  son,  buried  him  with 
great  pomp,  as  at  the  burial  of  kings, 
in  the  cave  which  God  had  told  him. 

15.  And  in  that  place  all  the  sons 
of  men  made  a  great  mourning  and 
weeping  on  account  of  Adam ;  it 
has  therefore  become  a  custom 
among  the  sons  of  men  to  this  day. 

16.  And  Adam  died  because  he 
ate  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  ;  he  and 
his  children  after  him,  as  the  Lord 
God  had  spoken. 

17.  And  it  was  in  the  year  of 
Adam's  death  which  was  tlie  two 
hundred  and  forty-third  year  of  the 
reign  of  Enoch,  in  that  time  Enoch 
resolved  to  separate  himself  from  the 
sons  of  men  and  to  secrete  himself 
as  at  first  in  order  to  serve  the  Lord. 

18.  And  Enoch  did  so,  but  did 
not  entirely  secrete  himself  from 
them,  but  kept  away  from  the  sons 
of  men  three  days  and  then  went  to 
them  for  one  dav. 


19.  And  during  the  three  days  that 
he  was  in  his  cliamber,  he  prayed 
to,  and  praised  the  Lord  his  God, 
and  the  day  on  which  he  went  and 
appeared  to  his  subjects  he  taught 
them  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  and  all 
they  asked  him  about  the  Jjord  he 
told  them. 

20.  And  he  did  in  this  manner  for 
many  years,  and  he  afterward  con- 
cealed himself  for  six  days,  and  ap- 
peared to  his  people  one  day  in  seven ; 
and  after  I  hat  once  in  a  month,  and 
then  once  in  a  year,  until  all  the  kin^s, 
princes  and  sons  of  men  sought  for 
him,  and  desired  again  to  see  the  face 
of  Enoch,  and  to  hear  his  word  ;  but 
they  could  not,  as  all  the  sons  of  men 
were  greatly  afraid  of  Enoch,  and 
they  feared  to  approach  him  on 
account  of  the  Godlike  awe  that 
was  seated  upon  his  countenance  ; 
therefore  no  man  could  look  at  him, 
fearing  he  might  be  punished  and 
die. 

21.  And  all  the  kings  and  princes 
resolved  to  assemble  the  sons  of  men, 
and  to  come  to  Enoch,  thinking  that 
they  might  all  speak  to  him  at  the 
time  when  he  should  come  forth 
amongst  them,  and  they  did  so. 

22.  And  the  day  came  when 
Enoch  went  forth  and  they  all  assem- 
bled and  came  to  him,  and  Enocii 
spoke  to  them  the  words  of  the  Lord 
and  he  taught  them  wisdom  and 
knowledge,  and  they  bowed  down 
before  him  and  they  said,  may  the 
king  live,  may  the  king  live  ! 

23.  And  in  some  time  after,  when 
the  kings  and  princes  and  the  sons 
of  men  were  speaking  to  Enoch,  and 
Enoch  was  teaching  them  the  ways 
of  God,  behold  an  angel  of  the  Lord 
then  called  unto  Enoch  from  heaven, 
and  wished  to  bring  him  up  to  heaven 
to  make  him  reisn  there  over  the  sons 


8 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


of  God,  as   he  had  reigned  over  the 
sons  of  men  upon  earth. 

23.  When  at  that  time  Enoch 
heard  this  he  went  and  assembled  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  and 
taught  them  wisdom  and  knowledge 
and  gave  them  divine  instructions, 
and  he  said  to  them,  I  have  been 
required  to  ascend  into  heaven,  I 
therefore  do  not  know  the  day  of  my 
going. 

25.  And  now  therefore  I  will 
teacii  you  wisdom  and  knowledge 
and  will  give  you  instmction  before  I 
leave  you,  how  to  act  upon  earth 
whereby  you  may  live;  and  he  did 
so. 

26.  And  he  taught  them  wisdom 
and  knowledge,  and  gave  them  in- 
struction, and  he  reproved  them,  and 
he  placed  before  them  statutes  and 
judgments  to  do  upon  earth,  and  he 
made  peace  amongst  them,  and  he 
tauoht  them  everlastincr  life,  and 
dwelt  with  them  some  time  teaching 
them  all  these  things. 

27.  And  at  that  time  the  sons  of 
men  were  with  Enoch,  and  Enoch 
was  speaking  to  them,  and  they 
lifted  up  their  eyes  and  the  likeness 
of  a  great  horse  descending  from 
heaven,  and  the  horse  paced  in  the* 
air; 

28.  And  they  told  Enoch  what 
they  had  seen,  and  Enoch  said  to 
them,  on  my  account  does  this  horse 
descend  upon  earth ;  the  time  is  come 
when  I  must  go  from  you  and  I  shall 
no  more  be  seen  by  you. 

29.  And  the  horse  descended  at 
that  lime  and  stood  before   Enoch, 

*  To  express  the  region  of  the  atmos[)here 
n^T  is  often  used,  as  the  word  i^ix  air,  met  with 
in  modern  Hebrew  works,  is  of  rabbinical  ex- 
traction and  may  be  derived  from  mx  light,  by 
which  it  might  have  been  intended  to  siiow  that 
the  air  is  tVie  medium  through  which  tho  rays 
of  light  become  visible  to  us. 


and  all  the  sons  of  men  that  were 
with  Enoch  saw  him. 

30.  And  Enoch  then  again  ord- 
ered a  voice  to  be  proclaimed,  say- 
ing, where  is  the  man  who  delight- 
eth  to  know  the  ways  of  the  Lord 
his  God,  let  him  come  this  day  to 
Enoch  before  he  is  taken  from  us. 

31.  And  all  the  sons  of  men  as- 
sembled and  came  to  Enoch  that 
day  ;  and  all  the  kings  of  the  earth 
witli  their  princes  and  counsellors 
remained  with  him  that  day  ;  and 
Enoch  then  taught  the  sons  of  men 
wisdom  and  knowledge,  and  ^ave 
tliem  divine  instruction  ;  and  he  bade 
them  serve  the  Lord  and  walk  in  his 
ways  all  the  days  of  their  lives,  and 
he  continued  to  make  peace  amongst 
them. 

32.  And  it  was  after  this  that  he 
rose  up  and  rode  upon  the  horse  ; 
and  he  went  forth  and  all  the  sons  of 
men  went  after  him,  about  eight 
hundred  thousand  men  ;  and  they 
went  with  him  one  day's  journey. 

33.  And  the  second  day  he  said 
to  them,  return  home  to  your  tents, 
why  will  you  go  ?  perhaps  you  may 
die  ;  and  some  of  them  went  from 
him,  and  those  that  remained  went 
with  him  six  day's  journey ;  and 
Enoch  said  to  them  every  day,  re- 
turn to  your  tents,  lest  you  may  die  ; 
but  they  were  not  willing  to  return, 
and  thcv  went  with  him. 

34.  And  on  the  sixth  day  some  of 
the  men  remained  and  clung  to  him, 
and  thev  said  to  him,  we  will  go  witli 
thee  to  the  place  where  thou  goest ; 
as  the  Lord  liveth,  death  only  shall 
separate  us. 

35.  And  they  urged  so  much  to 
go  with  him,  that  he  ceased  speak- 
ing to  them  ;  and  they  went  after 
him  and  would  not  return  ; 

36.  And  when  the  kings  returned 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


9 


they  caused  a  census  to  be  taken,  in 
order  to  know  the  number  of  re- 
maining men  that  went  vvitli  Enoch  ; 
and  it  was  upon  the  seventh  day  that 
Enocli  ascended  into  heaven  in  a 
whirlwind,  witli  horses  and  chariots 
of  fire. 

37.  And  on  the  ciglith  day  all  the 
kings  that  had  been  with  Enoch  sent 
to  bring  back  the  number  of  men 
that  were  with  Enoch,  in  that  place 
fiom  which  he  ascended  into  heaven. 

38.  And  all  those  kings  went  to 
the  place  and  they  found  the  earth 
there  filled  with  snow,  and  upon  the 
snow  were  large  stones  of  snow, 
and  one  said  to  the  other,  come,  let 
us  break  through  this  snow  and  see, 
perhaps  the  men  that  remained  with 
Enoch  are  dead,  and  are  now  under 
the  stones  of  snow,  and  they  search- 
ed but  could  not  find  him,  for  he  had 
ascended  into  heaven. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

1.  And  all  the  days  that  Enoch 
lived  upon  the  earth,  were  three 
hundred  and  sixty  five  years. 

2.  And  when  Enoch  had  ascend- 
ed into  heaven,  all  the  kings  of  the 
earth  rose  and  took  Methuselah  his 
son  and  anointed  him,  and  they 
caused  him  to  reign  over  them  in 
the  place  of  his  father. 

3.  And  Methuselah  acted  upright- 
ly in  the  sight  of  God,  as  his  father 
Enoch  had  taught  him,  and  he  like- 
wise during  the  whole  of  his  life 
taught  the  sons  of  men  wisdom, 
knowledge  and  the  fear  of  God,  and 
he  did  not  turn  from  the  good  way 
either  to  the  right  or  to  the  left. 

4.  But  in  the  latter  days  of  Me- 
thuselah, the  sons  of  men  turned 
from  the  Lord,  they  corrupted  the 
earth,   they   robbed   and   plundered 


each  otiier,  and  they  rebelled  against 
God  and  they  transgressed,  and  they 
corrupted  their  ways,  and  would  not 
hearken  to  the  voice  of  Methuselah, 
but  rebelled  against  iiim. 

5.  And  the  Lord  was  exceedingly 
wroth  against  them,  and  the  Lord 
continued  to  destroy  the  seed  in 
those  days,  so  that  there  was  neither 
sowing  nor  reaping  in  the  earth. 

6.  For  when  they  sowed  the 
ground  in  order  that  they  might  ob- 
tain food  for  their  support,  behold, 
thorns  and  thistles  were  produced 
which  they  did  not  sow. 

7.  And  still  the  sons  of  men  did 
not  turn  from  their  evil  ways,  and 
their  hands  were  still  extended  to  do 
evil  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  they 
provoked  the  Lord  with  their  evil 
ways,  and  the  Lord  was  very  wroth, 
and  repented  that  he  had  made 
man. 

8.  And  he  thought  to  destroy  and 
annihilate  them  *and  he  did  so. 

9.  In  those  days  when  Lamech 
the  son  of  Methuselah  was  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  years  old,  Seth  the 
son  of  Adam  died. 

10.  And  all  the  days  that  Seth 
lived,  were  nine  hundred  and  twelve 
years,  and  he  died. 

1 1 .  And  Lamech  was  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  years  old  when  he 
took  Ashmua,  the  daughter  of  Elishaa 
the  son  of  Enoch  his  uncle,  and  she 
conceived. 

12.  And  at  that  time  the  sons  of 
men  sowed  the  ground,  and  a  little 
food  was  produced,  yet  the  sons  of 
men  did  not  turn  from  their  evil 
ways,  and  they  trespassed  and  re- 
belled against  God. 

13.  And  the  wife  of  Lamech 
conceived   and   bare    him  a   son    at 

'Referring  to  what  was  shortly  to  take  place  ; 
the  flood. 


^10 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


that  time,  at   the  revokition  of  the 
year. 

14.  And  Methuselah-  called  his 
name  Noah,  saying,  the  earth  was 
in  his  days  at  rest  and  free  from  cor- 
ruption, and  Lamech  his  father  call- 
ed his  name  *Menachem,  saying, 
this  one  shall  comfort  us  in  our  works 
and  miserable  toil  in  the  earth, 
which  God  had  cursed. 

15.  And  the  child  grew  up  and 
was  weaned,  and  he  went  in  the 
ways  of  his  father  Methuselah,  per- 
fect and  upright  with  God. 

16.  And  all  the  sons  of  men  depar- 
ted from  the  ways  of  the  Lord  in  those 
days  as  they  multiplied  upon  the  face 
of  the  eartii  with  sons  and  daughters, 
and  they  taught  one  another  their 
evil  practices,  and  they  continued 
sinning  against  the  Lord. 

17.  And  every  man  made  unto 
himself  a  god,  and  they  robbed  and 
plundered  every  man  his  neighbor 
as  well  as  his  relative,  and  they  cor- 
rupted the  earth,  and  the  earth  was 
■filled  with  violence. 

18.  And  their  judges  and  rulers 
went  to  the  daughters  of  men  and 
took  their  wives  by  force  from  their 
husbands  according  to  their  choice, 
and  the  sons  of  men  in  those  days 
•took  from  the  cattle  of  the  earth,  the 
beasts  of  the  field  and  the  fowls  of 
the  air,  and  taught  the  mixture  of 
animals  of  one  species  with  the 
other,  in  order  therewith  to  provoke 
the  Lord ;  and  God  saw  the  whole 
earth  and  it  was  corrupt,  for  all  flesh 
had  corrupted  its  ways  upon  earth, 
all  men  and  all  animals. 

*  Menachem  sitrnifies  a  comforter.  We  have 
no  account  in  scripture  of  his  being  called  Me- 
nachem, although  the  reason  why  he  might  have 
had  that  name  is  given  as  it  is  here  :  "  this  one 
will  comfort  us,"  {Gen.)  which  does  not  so  well 
accord  with  the  name  Noah,  which  means  to 
rest.  I 


19.  And  the  Lord  said,  I  will  blot 
out  man  that  I  created  from  the  face 
of  the  earth,  yea  from  man  to  the 
birds  of  the  air,  together  with  cattle 
and  beasts  that  are  in  the  field,  for  I 
repent  that  I  made  them. 

20.  And  all  men  who  walked  in 
the  ways  of  the  Lord,  died  in  those 
days,  before  the  Lord  brought  the 
evil  upon  man  which  he  had  de- 
clared, for  this  was  from  the  Lord, 
that  they  should  not  see  the  evil 
which  the  Lord  spoke  of  concerning 
the  sons  of  men. 

21.  And  Noah  foimd  grace  in  the 
sight  of  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  chose 
him  and  his  children  to  raise  up  seed 
from  them  \ipon  the  face  of  the 
whole  earth. 

CHAPTER  V. 

1.  And  it  was  in  the  eighty  fourth 
year  of  the  life  of  Noah,  that  Enoch 
the  son  of  Seth  died  ;  he  was  nine 
bundled  and  five  years  old  at  his 
death. 

2.  And  in  the  one  hundred  and 
seventy  ninth  year  of  the  life  of 
Noah,  Cainan  the  son  of  Enosh 
died,  and  all  the  days  of  Cainan 
were  nine  hundred  and  ten  years, 
and  he  died. 

3.  And  in  the  two  hundred  and 
thirty  fourth  year  of  the  life  of  Noah, 
Mahlallel  the  son  of  Cainan  died, 
and  the  days  of  Mahlallel  were 
eight  hundred  and  ninety  five  years, 
and  he  died. 

4.  And  Jered  the  son  of  Mahlallel 
died  in  those  days,  in  the  three  hun- 
dred and  thirty  sixth  year  of  the  life 
of  Noah  ;  and  all  the  days  of  Jered 
were  nine  hundred  and  sixty  two 
years,  and  he  died. 

5.  And  all  who  followed  the  Lord 
died  in  those  days,  before  they  saw 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASIIER. 


11 


the  evil  which  God  declared  to  do 
upon  earth. 

6.  And  after  the  lapse  of  many 
years,  in  the  four  hundred  and  eigh- 
tieth year  of  the  life  of  Noah,  when 
all  those  men,  who  followed  the 
Lord  had  died  away  from  amongst 
the  sons  of  men,  and  only  *Methuse- 
lah  was  then  left,  God  said  unto 
Noah  and  Methuselah,  saying, 

7.  Speak  ye,  and  proclaim  to  the 
sons  of  men,  saying,  thus  saith  the 
Lord,  return  from  your  evil  ways 
and  forsake  your  works,  and  the 
Lord  will  repent  of  the  evil  that  he 
declared  to  do  to  you,  so  that  it  shall 
not  come  to  pass. 

8.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord,  behold 
I  give  you  a  period  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  years ;  if  you  will  turn 
to  me  and  forsake  your  evil  ways, 
then  will  I  also  turn  away  from  the 
evil  which  I  told  you,  and  it  shall 
not  exist,  saith  the  Lord. 

9.  And  Noah  and  Methuseleh 
spoke  all  the  words  of  the  Lord  to 
the  sons  of  men,  day  after  day,  con- 
stantly speaking  to  them. 

10.  But  the  sons  of  men  would 
not  hearken  to  them,  nor  incline 
their  ears  to  their  words,  and  they 
were  stiffnecked. 

1 1 .  And  the  Lord  granted  them 
a  period  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
years,  saying,  if  they  will  return, 
then  will  God  repent  of  the  evil,  so 
as  not  to  destroy  the  earth. 

12.  And  Noah  the  son  of  Lamech 
refrained  from  taking  a  wife  in  those 
days,  to  beget  children,  for  he  said, 
surely  now  God  will  destroy  the 
earth,  wherefore  then  shall  I  beget 
children  '^ 

*  Methuselah  only  was  left  of  the  good  ones 
who  did  not  die,  besides  Noah,  who  is  mention- 
ed in  the  beginnincr  of  the  verse,  in  the  450th 
year  of  the  life  of  Noah. 


13.  And  Noah  was  a  just  man,  he 
was  perfect  in  his  generation,  and 
the  Lord  chose  him  to  raise  up  seed 
from  his  seed  upon  the  face  of  the 
earth. 

14.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Noah, 
take  unto  thee  a  wife,  and  beget  chil- 
dren, for  I  have  seen  thee  righteous 
before  me  in  this  generation. 

15.  And  thou  shalt  raise  up  seed, 
and  thy  children  with  thee,  in  the 
midst  of  the  earth  ;  and  Noah  went 
and  took  a  wife,  and  he  chose* 
Naamali  the  daughter  of  P^noch,  and 
she  was  five  hundred  and  eighty 
years  old. 

16.  And  Noah  was  four  hundred 
and  ninety  eight  years  old,  when  he 
took  Naamah  for  a  wife. 

17.  And  Naamah  conceived  and 
bare  a  son,  and  he  called  his  name 
Japheth,  saying,  God  has  enlarged 
me  in  the  earth  ;  and  she  conceived 
again  and  bare  a  son,  and  he  called 
his  name  Shem,  saying,  God  has 
made  me  a  remnant,  to  raise  up  seed 
in  the  midst  of  the  earth. 

18.  And  Noah  was  five  hundred 
and  two  years  old  when  Naamah 
bare  Shem,  and  the  boys  grew  up 
and  went  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  in 
all  that  Methuselah  and  Noah  their 
father  taught  them. 

19.  And  Lamech  the  father  of 
Noah  died  in  those  days  ;  yet  verily 
he   did  not  go  with  all  his  heart  in 

*  From  this  it  appears  that  the  offsjiring  of 
the  great,  pious  and  illustrious  Enoch  was  re- 
served to  be  the  partner  of  the  just  and  upright 
Noah,  thereby  connecting  the  best  of  the  fami- 
ly of  Cain  and  Seth  together.  It  was  certainly 
a  great  age  to  contract  matrimony,  but  it  mu.st 
be  remembered  that  Noah  was  then  getting  on 
to  five  hundred  years,  and  as  he  deferred  mar- 
riage to  this  exceeding  great  age,  he  looked  out 
for  one  of  his  own  age.  I  suppose  that  Enoch's 
daughter  intended  living  secluded  from  men, 
like  her  father,  until  Noah,  the  best  of  men  then 
living,  applied  to  her. 


12 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


the  ways  of  his  father,  and  he  died  in 
the  hundred  and  ninety-fifth  year  of 
the  hfc  of  Noah. 

20.  And  all  the  days  of  Lamech 
were  seven  hundred  and  seventy 
years  and  he  died. 

21.  And  all  the  sons  of  men  who 
knew  the  Lord,  died  in  that  year  be- 
fore the  Lord  brought  evil  upon 
them  ;  for  the  Lord  willed  them  to 
die,  so  as  not  to  behold  the  evil 
that  God  would  bring  upon  their 
brothers  and  relatives,  as  he  had  so 
declared  to  do. 

22.  In  that  time,  the  Lord  said 
to  Noah  and  Metiiuselah,  stand  forth 
and  proclaim  to  the  sons  of  men  all 
the  words  that  I  spoke  to  you  in  those 
days,  pcradventure  they  may  turn 
from  their  evil  ways,  and  I  will  then 
repent  of  the  evil  and  will  not  bring  it. 

23.  And  Noah  and  JMethuselah 
stood  forth,  and  said  in  the  ears  of 
the  sons  of  men,  all  that  God  had 
spoken  concerning  them. 

24.  But  the  sons  of  men  would 
not  hearken,  neither  would  they  in- 
cline their  ears  to  all  their  declara- 
tions. 

25.  And  it  was  after  this  that  the 
Lord  said  to  Noah,  the  end  of  all 
flesh  is  come  before  me,  on  account 
of  their  evil  deeds,  and  behold  I  will 
destroy  the  earth. 

26.  And  do  thou  take  unto  thee 
Gopher  wood,  and  go  to  a  certain 
place  and  make  a  large  ark,  and 
place  it  in  tliat  spot. 

27.  And  thus  shalt  thou  make  it ; 
three  hundred  cubits  its  length,  fifty 
cubits  broad  and  thirty  cubits  high. 

28.  And  thou  shalt  make  unto  thee 
a  door,  open  at  its  side,  and  to  a  cubit 
thou  shalt  finish  above,  and  cover  it 
within  and  without  with  pitch. 

29.  And  behold  I  will  bring  the 
flood  of  waters  upon  the  earth,  and 


all  flesh  be  destroyed,  from  under 
the  heavens,  all  that  is  upon  earth 
shall  perish. 

30.  And  thou  and  thy  household 
shall  go  and  gather  two  couple  of 
all  living  things,  male  and  female, 
and  shall  bring  them  to  the  ark,  to 
raise  up  seed  from  them  upon  earth. 

31.  And  gather  unto  thee  all  food 
that  is  eaten  by  all  the  animals,  that 
there  may  be  food  for  thee  and  for 
them. 

32.  And  thou  shalt  choose  for  thy 
sons  three  maidens,  from  the  daugh- 
ters of  men,  and  they  shall  be  wives 
to  thy  sons. 

33.  And  Noah  rose  up,  and  he 
made  the  ark,  in  the  place  where  God 
iiad  commanded  him,  and  Noah  did 
as  (iod  had  ordered  him. 

34.  Li  his  five  hundred  and  ninety 
fifth  year  Noah  commenced  to  make 
the  ark,  and  he  made  the  ark  in  five 
years,  as  the  Lord   had  commanded. 

35.  Then  Noah  took  the  three 
daughters  of  Eliakim,  son  of  Methu- 
selah, for  wives  for  his  sons,  as  the 
Lord  had  commanded  Noah. 

36.  And  it  was  at  that  time  Me- 
thuselah the  son  of  Enoch  died  ;  nine 
hundred  and  sixty  years  old  was  he, 
at  his  death. 

CHAPTER  VL 

1.  At  that  time,  after  the  death  of 
Methuselah,  the  Lord  said  to  Noah, 
go  thou  with  thv  household  into  the 
ark  ;  behold  I  will  gather  to  thee  all 
the  animals  of  the  earth,  the  beasts 
of  the  field  and  the  fowls  of  the 
air,  and  they  shall  all  come  and  sur- 
round the  ark. 

2.  And  thou  shalt  go  and  seat  thy- 
self by  the  doors  of  the  ark,  and  all 
the  beasts,  the  animals,  and  the  fowls, 
shall  assemble  and  place  themselves 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


13 


before  thee,  and  such  of  ihcm  as 
shall  come  and  crouch  before  thee, 
siialt.  thou  take  and  deliver  into  the 
hands  of  thy  sons,  who  shall  bring 
them  to  the  ark,  and  all  that  will 
stand  before  thee   thou  shalt  leave. 

3.  And  the  Lord  brought  this 
about  on  the  next  day,  and  animals, 
beasts  and  fowls  came  in  great  mul- 
titudes and  surrounded  the  ark. 

4.  And  Noah  went  and  seated  him- 
self by  the  door  of  the  ark,  and  of  all 
flesh  that  crouched  before  him,  he 
brought  into  the  ark,  and  all  that  stood 
before  him  he  left  upon  earth. 

5.  And  a  lioness  came,  with  her 
two  whelps,  male  and  female,  and 
the  three  crouched  before  Noah,  and 
the  two  whelps  rose  up  against 
the  lioness  and  smote  her,  and  made 
her  flee  from  her  place,  and  she  went 
away,  and  they  returned  to  their  pla- 
ces, and  crouched  upon  the  earth 
before  Noah. 

6.  And  the  lioness  ran  away,  and 
stood  in  the  place  of  the  lions. 

7.  And  Noah  saw  this,  and*  won- 
dered greatly,  and  he  rose  and  took 
the  two  whelps,  and  brought  them 
into  the  ark. 

8.  And  Noah  brought  into  the  ark 
from  all  living  creatures  that  were 
upon  earth,  so  that  there  was  none 
left  but  which  Noah  brought  into 
the  ark. 

9.  Two  and  two  came  to  Noah 
into  the  ark,  but  from  the  clean  ani- 
mals, and  clean  fowls,  he  brought 
seven  couples,  as  God  had  com- 
manded him. 

*  1 0.  And  all  the  animals,  and  beasts, 
and  fowls,  were  still  there,  and  they 
surrounded  the    ark   at  every  place, 

*  At  the  height  to  which  even  the  animals  of 
the  earth  had  corrupted  themselves,  that  the 
young  whelps  could  so  unnaturally  rise  up 
against  their  parent  in  such  a  time  of  disaster. 


and  the  rain  had  not  descended  till 
seven  days  after. 

11.  And  on  that  day,  the  Lord 
caused  the  whole  earth  to  shake, 
and  the  sun  darkened,  and  the  foun- 
dations of  the  world  raged,  and  the 
whole  earth  was  moved  violently, 
and  the  lightning  flashed,  and  the 
thunder  roared,  and  all  the  fountains 
in  the  earth  were  broken  up,  such  as 
was  not  known  to  the  inhabitants  he- 
fore  ;  and  God  did  this  mighty  act, 
in  order  to  terrify  the  sons  of  men, 
that  there  uught  be  no  more  evil  upon 
earth. 

12.  And  still  the  sons  of  men  would 
not  return  from  their  evil  ways,  and 
they  increased  the  anger  of  the  Lord 
at  that  time,  and  did  not  even  direct 
their  hearts  to  all  this. 

13.  And  at  the  end  of  seven  days, 
in  the  six  hundredth  year  of  the  life 
of  Noah,  the  waters  of  the  flood 
were  upon  the  earth. 

14.  And  all  the  fountains  of  the 
deep  were  broken  up,  and  the  win- 
dows of  heaven  were  opened,  and 
the  rain  was  upon  the  earth  forty 
da5'S  and  forty  nights. 

15.  And  Noah  and  his  household, 
and  all  the  living  creatures  that  were 
with  him,  came  into  the  ark  on  ac- 
count of  the  waters  of  the  flood,  and 
the  Lord  shut  him  in. 

16.  And  all  the  sons  of  men  that 
were  left  upon  the  earth,  became  ex- 
hausted through  evil  on  account  of 
the  rain,  for  the  waters  were  coming 
more  violently  upon  the  earth,  and 
the  animals  and  beasts  were  still  sur- 
rounding the  ark. 

17.  And  the  sons  of  men  assem- 
bled together,  about*  seven  hundred 

*  It  must  be  remembered,  that  according  to 
this  book,  a  third  part  of  the  earth  had  already 
been  destroyed  by  the  overdowing  of  the  river 
Gihon.     See  chapter  2,  verse  6. 


14 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


thousand  men  and  women,  and  they 
came  unto  Noah  to  the  ark. 

18.  And  they  ealled  to  Noah,  say- 
ing, open  for  us  that  we  may  come 
to  thee  in  the  ark — and  wherefore 
shall  we  die  ? 

19.  And  Noah,  with  a  loud  voice, 
answered  them  from  the  ark,  saying, 
have  you  not  all  rebelled  against  the 
Lord,  and  said  that  he  does  not  exist  ? 
and  therefore  the  Lord  brought  upon 
you  this  evil,  to  destroy  and  cut  you 
off  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

20.  Is  not  this  the  thing  that  I 
spoke  to  you  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years  back,  and  you  would 
not  hearken  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord, 
and  now  do  you  desire  to  live  upon 
earth  ? 

21.  And  they  said  to  Noah,  we 
are  ready  to  return  to  the  Lord  ;  only 
open  for  us  that  we  may  live  and 
not  die. 

22.  And  Noah  answered  them, 
saying,  behold  now  that  you  see  the 
trouble  of  your  souls,  you  wish  to 
return  to  the  Lord  ;  why  did  you  not 
return  during  these  hundred  and 
twenty  years,  which  the  Lord  gran- 
ted you  as  the  determined  period  ? 

23.  But  now  you  come  and  tell 
me  this  on  account  of  the  troubles 
of  your  souls,  now  also  the  Lord 
will  not  listen  to  you,  neither  will  he 
give  ear  to  you  on  this  day,  so  that 
you  will  not  now  succeed  in  your 
wishes. 

24.  And  the  sons  of  men  ap- 
proached iyi  order  to  break  into  the 
ark,  to  come  in  on  account  of  the 
rain,  for  they  could  not  bear  the  rain 
upon  them. 

25.  And  the  Lord  sent  all  the 
beasts  and  animals  that  stood  round 
the  ark.  And  the  beasts  overpow- 
ered them  and  drove  them  from  that 
place,  and  every  man  went  his  way 


and  they  again  scattered  themselves 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth. 

26.  And  the  rain  was  still  de- 
scending upon  the  earth,  and  it  de- 
scended forty  days  and  forty  nights, 
and  the  waters  prevailed  greatly  upon 
the  earth  ;  and  all  flesh  that  was  upon 
the  earth  or  in  the  waters  died,  whe- 
ther men,  animals,  beasts,  creeping 
things  or  birds  of  the  air,  and  there 
only  remained  Noah  and  those  that 
were  with  him  in  the  ark. 

27.  And  the  waters  prevailed  and 
they  greatly  increased  upon  the  earth, 
and  they  lifted  up  the  ark  and  it  was 
raised  from  the  earth. 

28.  And  the  ark  floated  upon  the 
face  of  the  waters,  and  it  was  tossed 
upon  the  waters  so  that  all  the  living 
creatures  within  were  turned  about 
like  pottage  in  the  cauldron. 

29.  And  great  anxiety  seized  all 
tlie  living  creatures  that  were  in  the 
ark,  and  the  ark  was  like  to  be  broken. 

30.  And  all  the  living  creatures 
that  were  in  the  ark  were  terrified, 
and  the  lions  roared,  and  the  oxen 
lowed,  and  the  wolves  howled,  and 
every  living  creature  in  the  ark 
spoke  and  lamented  in  its  own  lan- 
guage, so  that  their  voices  reached 
to  a  great  distance,  and  Noah  and  his 
sons  cried  and  wept  in  their  troubles; 
they  were  greatly  afraid  that  they 
had  reached  the  gates  of  death. 

31.  And  Noah  prayed  unto  the 
Lord,  and  he  cried  unto  him  on  ac- 
count of  this,  and  he  said,  0  Lord 
help  us,  for  we  have  no  strength  to 
bear  this  evil  that  has  encompassed 
us,  for  the  waves  of  the  waters  have 
.surrounded  us,  mischievous  torrents 
have  terrified  us,  the  snares  of  death 
have  come  before  us  ;  answer  us,  O 
Lord,  answer  us,  hght  up  thy  coun- 
tenance toward  us  and  be  gracious 
to  us,  redeem  us  and  deliver  us. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


15 


32.  And  the  Lord  hearkened  to 
the  voice  of  Noah,  and  the  Lord  re- 
membered him. 

33.  And  a  wind  passed  over  the 
earth,  and  the  waters  were  still  and 
the  ark  rested. 

34.  And  the  fountains  of  the  deep 
and  the  windows  of  heaven  were 
stopped,  and  the  rain  from  heaven 
was  restrained. 

35.  And  the  waters  decreased  in 
those  days,  and  the  ark  rested  upon 
the  mountains  of  Ararat. 

36.  And  Noah  then  opened  the 
windows  of  the  ark,  and  Noah  still 
called  out  to  the  Lord  at  that  time 
and  he  said,  O  Lord,  who  didst  form 
the  earth  and  the  heavens  and  all  that 
are  therein,  bring  forth  our  souls  from 
this  confinement,  and  from  the  prison 
wherein  thou  hast  placed  us,  for  I 
am  much  wearied  with  sighing. 

37.  And  the  Lord  hearkened  to 
the  voice  of  Noah,  and  said  to  him, 
when  thou  shalt  have  completed  a 
full  year  thou  shalt  then  go  forth. 

38.  And  at  the  revolution  of  the 
year,  when  a  full  year  was  comple- 
ted to  Noah's  dwelling  in  the  ark, 
the  waters  were  dried  from  off  the 
earth,  and  Noah  put  off  the  covering 
of  the  ark. 

39.  At  that  time,  on  the  twenty- 
seventh  day  of  the  second  month, 
the  earth  was  dry,  but  Noah  and  his 
sons,  aixl  those  that  were  with  him, 
did  not  go  out  from  the  ark  until  the 
Lord  told  them. 

40.  And  the  day  came  that  the 
Lord  told  them  to  go  out,  and  they 
all  went  out  from  the  ark. 

41.  And  they  went  and  returned 
every  one  to  his  way  and  to  his  place, 
and  Noah  and  his  sons  dwelt  in  the 
land  that  God  had  told  them,  and 
they  served  the  Lord  all  their  days, 
and  the  Lord  blessed  Noah  and  his 


sons  on  their  going  out  from  the  ark. 
42.  And  he  said  to  them,  be  fruit- 
ful and  fill  all  the  earth  ;  become 
strong  and  increase  abundantly  in  the 
earth  and  multiply  therein. 

CHAPTER  VIL 

1.  And  these  are  the  names  of 
the  sons  of  Noah  :  Japheth,  Ham 
and  Shem  ;  and  children  were  born 
to  them  after  the  flood,  for  they  had 
taken  wives  before  the  flood. 

2.  Tiiese  are  the  sons  of  Japheth ; 
Gomer,  Magog,  Madai,  Javan,  Tu- 
bal, Meshech  and  Tiras,  seven  sons. 

3.  And  the  sons  of  Gomer  were 
Askinaz,  Rephath  and  Tegarmah. 

4.  And  the  sons  of  Magog  were 
Elichanaf  and  Lubal. 

5.  And  the  children  of  Madai 
were  Achon,  Zeelo,  Chazoni  and 
Lot. 

6.  And  the  sons  of  Javan  were 
Elisha,  Tarshish,  Chittim  and  Dudo- 
nim. 

7.  And  the  sons  of  Tubal  w^ere 
Ariphi,  Kesed  and  Taari. 

8.  And  the  sons  of  Meshech 
were  Dedon,  Zaron  and  Shebashni. 

9.  And  the  sons  of  Tiras  were 
Benib,  Gera,  Lupirion  and  Gilak  ; 
these  are  the  sons  of  Japheth  ac- 
cording to  their  families,  and  their 
numbers  in  those  days  were  about 
four  hundred  and  sixty  men. 

10.  And  these  are  the  sons  of 
Ham  ;  Cush,  Mitzraim,  Phut  and 
Canaan,  four  sons  ;  and  the  sons  of 
Cush  were  Seba,  Havilah,  Sabta, 
Raama  and  Satecha,  and  the  sons  o-f 
Raama  were  Sheba  and  Dedan. 

1  ] .  And  the  sons  of  Mitzraim 
were  Lud,  Anom  and  Pathros,  Chas- 
loth  and  Chaphtor. 

12.  And  the  sons  of  Phut  were 
Gebul ,  Hadan,  Benah  and  Adan. 


16 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


13.  And  the  sons  of  Canaan 
were  Zidon,  Heth,  Amori,  Gergashi, 
Hivi,  Arkee,  Seni,  Arodi,  Zimodi 
and  Chamothi. 

14.  These  are  the  sons  of  Ham, 
according  to  their  famihes,  and  their 
numbers  in  those  days  were  about 
seven  hundred  and  thirty  men. 

15.  And  these  are  the  sons  of 
Shem;  Elam,  Ashur,  Arpachshad, 
Lud  and  Aram,  five  sons  ;  and  the 
sons  of  Elam  were  Shushan,  Ma- 
chul  and  Harmon. 

16.  And  the  sons  of  Ashar  were 
Mirus  and  Mokil,  and  the  sons  of 
Arpachshad  were  Shelach,  Anar 
and  Ashcol. 

17.  And  the  sons  of  Lud  were 
Pethor  and  Bizayon,  and  the  sons 
of  Aram  were  Uz,  Chul,  Gather 
and  Mash. 

18.  These  are  the  sons  of  Ham, 
according  to  their  famihes ;  and 
their  numbers  in  those  days  were 
about  three  hundred  men. 

19.  These  are  the  generations  of  him  until  he 
Shem;  Shem  begat  Arpachshad  and;      27.  And  i 


Terah,  and  Terah  was  thirty-eight 
years  old,  and  he  begat  Haran  and 
Nahor. 

23.  And  Cush  the  son  of  Ham, 
the  son  of  Noah,  took  a  wife  in  those 
days,  in  his  old  age,  and  she  bare 
a  son,  and  they  called  his  name 
Nimrod,  saying,  at  that  time  the 
sons  of  men  again  began  to  rebel 
and  transgress  against  God,  and  the 
child  grew  up,  and  his  father  loved 
him  exceedingly,  for  he  was  the  son 
of  his  old  age. 

24.  And  the  garments  of  skin 
which  God  made  for  Adam  and  his 
wife,  when  they  went  out  of  the 
garden,  were  given  to  Cush. 

25.  For  after  the  death  of  Adam 
and  his  wife,  the  garments  were  giv- 
en to  Enoch,  the  son  of  Jered,  and 
when  Enoch  was  taken  up  to  God, 
he  gave  them  to  Methuselah,  his  son. 

26.  And  at  the  death  of  Methuse- 
lah, Noah  took  them  and  brought 
them  to  the  ark,  and  they  were  with 

went  out  of   the  ark. 
their  going  out.  Ham 


Arpachshad  begat  Shelach,  and  '•  stole  those  garments  from  Noah  his 
Shelach  begat  Eber  and  to  Eber  father,  and  he  took  them  and  hid 
were  born  two  children,  the  name  of  them  from  his  brothers, 
one  was  Peleg,  for  in  his  days  the '  28.  And  when  Ham  begat  his 
sons  of  men  were  divided,  and  in :  first  born  Cush,  he  gave  him  the 
the  latter  days,  the  earth  was  divi- 1  garments  in  secret,  and  they  were 


ded 

20.  And  the  name  of  the  second 
was  Yoktan,  meaning  that  in  his 
day  the  lives  of  the  sons  of  men 
Yv'ere  diminished  and  lessened. 

21,  These  are  the  sons  of  Yok- 
tan; Almodad,  Shelaf,    Chazarmov 


with  Cush  many  days. 

29.  And  Cush  also  concealed  them 
from  his  sons  and  brothers,  and  when 
Cush  had  begotten  Nimrod,  he 
gave  him  those  garments  through 
his  love  for  him,  and  Nimrod  grew 
up,  and  when  he  was  twenty  years 


eth,  Yerach,  Hadurom,  Ozel,  Diklah, ;  old  he  piU  on  those  garments. 


Obal,  Abimael,  Sheba,  Ophir,  HaV' 
ilah  and  Jobab  ;  all  these  are  the 
sons  of  Yoktan. 

22.  And  Peleg  his  brother  begat 
Yen,  and  Yen  begat  Serug,  and  Se- 
riig  begat  Nahor,  and  Nahor  begat 


30.  And  Nimrod  became  strong 
when  he  put  on  the  garments,  and 
God  gave  him  might  and  strength, 
and  he  was  a  mighty  hunter  in  the 
earth,  yea,  he  was  a  mighty  hunter 
in  the  field,  and  he  hunted  the  ani- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


17 


mals  and  he  built  altars,  and  he  of- 
fered upon  them  the  animals  before 
the  Lord. 

31.  And  Nimrod  Strengthened 
himself,  and  he  rose  up  from  amongst 
his  brethren,  and  he  fought  the  bat- 
tles of  his  brethren  against  all  their 
enemies  round  about. 

32.  And  the  Lord  delivered  all 
the  enemies  of  his  brethren  in  his 
hands,  and  God  prospered  him  from 
time  to  time  in  his  battles,  and  he 
reigned  upon  earth, 

33.  Therefore  it  became  current 
in  those  days,  when  a  man  ushered 
forth  those  that  he  liad  trained  up 
for  battle,  he  would  say  to  them,  like 
God  did  to  Nimrod,  who  was  a 
mighty  hunter  in  the  earth,  and  who 
succeeded  in  the  battles  that  prevail- 
ed against  his  brethren,  that  he  de- 
livered them  from  the  hands  of  their 
enemies,  so  may  God  strengthen 
us  and  deliver  us  this  day. 

34.  And  when  Nimrod  was  forty 
years  old,  at  that  lime  there  was  a 
war  between  his  brethren  and  the 
children  of  Japhelh,  so  that  they 
were  in  the  power  of  their  enemies. 

35.  And  Nimrod  went  forth  at 
that  time,  and  he  assembled  all  the 
sons  of  Cush  and  their  families, 
about  four  hundred  and  sixty  men, 
and  he  hired  also  from  some  of  his 
friends  and  acquaintances  about 
eighty  men,  and  he  gave  them  their 
hire,  and  he  went  with  them  to  bat- 
tle, and  when  he  was  on  the  road, 
Nimrod  strengthened  the  hearts  of 
the  people  that  went  with  him. 

36.  And  he  said  to  them,  do  not 
fear,  neither  be  alarmed,  for  all  our 
enemies  will  be  delivered  into  our 
hands,  and  you  may  do  with  them 
as  you  please. 

37.  And  all  the  men  that  went 
were  about  five  hundred,  and  they 

2 


fought  against  their  enemies,  and 
they  destroyed  them,  and  subdued 
them,  and  Nimrod  placed  standing 
ofhcers  over  them  in  their  respective 
places, 

38.  And  he  look  some  of  their 
children  as  security,  and  they  were 
all  servants  to  Nimrod  and  to  his 
brethren,  and  Nimrod  and  all  the 
people  that  were  with  him  turned 
homeward, 

39.  And  when  Nimrod  had  joy- 
fully returned  from  battle,  after  having 
conquered  his  enemies,  all  his  breth- 
ren, together  with  those  who  knew 
him  before,  assembled  to  make  him 
king  over  them,  and  ihey  placed  the 
regal  crown  upon  his  head, 

40.  And  he  set  over  his  subjects 
and  people,  princes,  judges  and 
rulers,  as  is  the  custom  amongst 
kings, 

41.  And  he  placed  Terah  the  son 
of  Nahor  the  prince  of  his  host,  and 
he  dignified  him  and  elevated  him 
above  all  his  princes. 

42.  And  whilst  he  was  reigning 
according  to  his  heart's  desire,  after 
having  conquered  all  his  enemies 
around,  he  advised  with  his  counsel- 
lors to  build  a  city  for  his  palace, 
and  they  did  so. 

43.  And  they  found  a  large  valley 
opposite  to  the  east,  and  they  built 
him  a  large  and  extensive  city,  and 
Nimrod  called  the  name  of  the  city 
that  he  built  iShinar,  for  the  Lord 
had  vehemently  shaken  his  enemies 
and  destroyed  them, 

44.  And  Nimrod  dwelt  in  Shinar, 
and  he  reigned  securely,  and  he 
fought  with  his  enemies  and  he  sub- 
dued them,  and  he  prospered  in  all 
his  battles,  and  his  kingdom  became 
very  great. 

45.  And  all  nations  and  tongues 
heard  of  his  fame,  and  they  gathered 


18 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


themselves*  to  him,  and  they  bowed 
down  to  the  earth,  and  they  brought 
him  offerings,  and  he  became  their 
lord  and  king,  and  they  all  dweh 
with  him  in  the  city  of  Shinar,  and 
Nimrod  reigned  in  the  earth  over  all 
the  sons  of  Noah,  and  they  were  all 
under  his  power  and  counsel. 

46.  And  all  the  earth  was  of  one 
tongue  and  words  of  union,  but  Nim- 
rod did  not  go  in  the  ways  of  the 
Lord,  and  he  was  more  wicked  than 
all  the  men  that  were  before  him,  from 
the  days  of  the  flood  until  those  days. 

47.  And  he  made  Gods  of  wood 

*  According  to  Jasher,  (and,  I  believe,  Dr. 
Clarke  gives  the  same  opinion  of  some  Chris- 
tian commentators,)  an  inference  can  be  drawn 
that  there  was  a  partial  separation  of  mankind 
long  before  the  affair  at  Babel,  as  the  confusion 
of  languages  did  not  take  place  till  about  340 
years  after  the  flootl,  being  the  end  of  Peleg's 
life,  or  the  48th  year  of  the  life  of  Abraham  ; 
and  having  shown  that  the  date  of  Abraham's 
birth  should  be  A.  M.  1948  instead  of  2008,  it 
will  follow  that  the  confusion  of  Babel  took 
place  A.  M.  1996.  I  have  no  doubt  that  a  se- 
paration took  place  before  then,  until  they  were 
reunited  under  the  dominion  of  Nimrod.  Ow- 
ing to  this  separation,  and  their  numerous  in- 
crease, their  having  no  regular  form  of  govern- 
ment, and  particularly  their  petty  v^-ars  among 
each  other,  their  first  language  would  branch 
out  into  many  variations,  but  still  near  enough 
to  the  original  to  be  understood  by  each  other, 
and  sufficiently  altered  to  be  called  different 
tongues  ;  and  as  a  number  of  families  might,  by 
co-operating  together,  be  called  a  petty  nation, 
so  would  some  alteration  in  their  speech,  or 
tongue,  be  sufficient  to  distinguish  them.  Ja- 
sher tells  us,  that  when  Nimrod  was  40  years 
old,  there  was  war  between  his  brethren  and 
the  children  of  Japheth  ;  (see  verse  34;)  and 
that  they  were  under  the  power  of  their  ene- 
mies ;  that  with  a  few  people,  (of  the  children 
of  Cush  only,)  he  made  war,  and  subdued  them  ; 
and  that  they  all  came  to  dwell  with  him  in 
Shinar.  I  have  frequently  had  to  remark  that 
the  word  all  must  not  in  the  Hebrew  be  taken 
in  that  latitude,  as  it  would  in  the  modern  lan- 
guages. When  a  united  number  is  intended  to 
be  expressed,  the  word  all  is  used  as  in  verse 
35,  when  "  Nimrod  assembled  all  the  sons  of 
Cush,  and  their  families,  about  four  hundred  and 
sixtv  men,"  by  this  is  meant  that  all  fJiosc  assem- 
bled of  the  families  of  Gush  were  four  hundred 


and  stone,  and  he  bowed  down  to 
them,  and  he  rebelled  against  the 
Lord,  and  taught  all  his  subjects  and 
the  people  of  the  earth  his  wicked 
ways ;  and  Mardon  his  son  was  more 
wicked  than  his  father. 

48.  And  every  one  that  heard  of 
the  acts  of  Mardon  the  son  of  Nimrod 
would  say,  concerning  him,  from  the 
wicked  goeth  forth  wickedness  ; 
therefore  it  became  a  proverb  in  the 
whole  earth,  saying,  from  the  wick- 
ed goeth  forth  wickedness,  and  it 
was  current  in  the  words  of  mezi 
from  that  time  to  this. 

and  sixty  men.  Sufficient  examples  will  be  found 
in  Jasher  as  well  as  in  scripture,  where  So  must  be 
understood  in  this  sense.  I  therefore  understand 
in  this  verse,  not  that  all  mankind  came  to  live  in 
Shinar,  but  that  all  those  that  did  come,  resided 
in  Shinar.  And  if,  owing  to  their  former  separa- 
tion into  petty  nations,  they  must  have  adopted 
various  dialects  sufficient  to  distinguish  them,  as 
Jasher  tells  us  that  "  all  nations  and  tongues 
heard  his  fame,"  so  when  they  were  reuni- 
ted, and  become  under  one  government,  not 
from  choice,  but  from  compulsion,  then  they  be- 
came again  of  one  lip  and  words  of  union  ;  for 
thus  would  I  translate  onnK  onaii,  commonly 
translated,  and  one  speech,  which  is  the  li- 
teral translation,  meaning  that  after  their  ces- 
sation from  war  and  petty  broils,  they  again 
spoke  in  one  lip  and  words  of  union,  in  opposi- 
tion to  separate  dialects  and  words  of  strife. 
This  inference  of  a  former  separation  will  ex- 
plain that  part  of  the  speech  of  the  builders  of 
Babel,  "  we  will  build  a  tower,  &.C.,  &c.,  lest 
we  be  scattered  upon  the  face  of  the  earth," 
alluding  to  their  former  dissensions,  by  which 
means  they  had  originally  separated,  and  be- 
come scattered,  but  wishing  to  unite  in  idolatry, 
and  raise  an  amazing  tower,  they  hoped  it  would 
be  the  means  of  uniting  the  whole  race  of  man- 
kind under  their  impious  standard.  It  seems 
that  the  famihes  of  Cush,  Mitzraim,  Phut  and 
Canaan  were  the  chief  instigators  to  this  im- 
pious act,  and  that  out  of  all  the  families  then 
existing,  not  of  Ham  only,  but  the  impious  of 
all  the  families  that  assembled  to  the  task,  were 
600,000  men  ;  and  they  chose  a  valley  at  two 
days'  distance  from  Shinar,  say  twenty  miles. 
I  have  no  doubt  the  numbers  of  the  human  race 
were  very  considerable  at  that  time,  as  it  was 
340  years  after  the  flood,  and  there  was  plenty 
of  time  for  the  propagation  of  men  to  three  or 
four  millions  of  inhabitants. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


19 


49.  And  Terah  the  son  of  Nahor, 
prince  of  Nimrod's  host,  was  in  those 
days  very  great  in  the  sight  of  the 
king  and  his  subjects,  and  the  king 
and  princes  loved  him,  and  they  ele- 
vated him  very  high. 

50.  And  Terah*  took  a  wife,  and 
her  name  was  Amthelo  the  daughter 
of  Cornebo  ;  and  the  wife  of  Terah 
conceived  and  bare  him  a  son  in 
those  days. 

51.  Terah  was  seventy  years  old 
when  he  begat  him,  and  Terah  called 
the  name  of  his  son  that  was  born  to 
himt  Abram,  because  the  king  had 
raised  him  in  those  days,  and  digni- 
fied him  above  all  his  princes  that 
were  with  him. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

1.  And  it  was  in  the  night  that 
Abram  was  born,  that  all  the  ser- 
vants of  Terah,  and  all  the  wise  men 
of  Nimrod,  and  his  conjurors  came 
and  ate  and  drank  in  the  house  of 
Terah,  and  they  rejoiced  with  him  on 
that  night. 

2.  And  when  all  the  wise  men 
and  conjurors  went  out  from  the 
house  of  Terah,  they  lifted  up  their 
eyes  toward  heaven  that  night  to 
look  at  the  stars,  and  they  saw,  and 
behold  one  very  large  star  came 
from  the  east  and  ran  in  the  heav- 
ens, and  he  swallowed  up  the  four 
stars  from  the  four  sides  of  the 
heavens. 

*  By  this  it  seems  he  had  another  wife  who 
bare  Abram,  different  from  her  who  bare  Haran 
and  Nahor.     See  verse  22. 

+  max  From  this  it  seems  that  Abram  was 
called  so,  not  because  he  was  a  mighty  father, 
but  because  Terah  was  a  mighty  father  in  the 
court  of  Nimrod,  and  therefore  God  changed 
his  name  to  .'Abraham,  appropriating  to  him  in 
a  much  more  extensive  sense,  the  meaning 
which  Terah  applied  to  himself. 


3.  And  all  the  wise  men  of  the 
king  and  his  conjurors  were  aston- 
ished at  the  sight,  and  the  sages  un- 
derstood this  matter,  and  they  knew 
its  import. 

4.  And  they  said  to  each  other,  tiiis 
only  betokens  the  child  that  has  been 
born  to  Terah  this  night,  who  will 
grow  up  and  be  fruitful,  and  multi- 
ply, and  possess  all  the  earth,  he 
and  his  children  for  ever,  and  he 
and  his  seed  will  slay  great  kings, 
and  inherit  their  lands. 

5.  And  the  wise  men  and  conju- 
rors went  home  that  night,  and  in  the 
morning  all  these  wise  men  and  con- 
jurors rose  up  early,  and  assembled 
in  an  appointed  house. 

6.  And  they  spoke  and  said  to  each 
other,  behold  the  sight  that  we  saw 
last  night  is  liidden  from  the  king,  it 
has  not  been  made  known  to  him, 

7.  And  should  this  thing  get 
known  to  the  king  in  the  latter  days, 
he  will  say  to  us,  why  have  you  con- 
cealed this  matter  from  me,  and  then 
we  shall  all  suffer  death  ;  therefore, 
now  let  us  go  and  tell  the  king  the 
sight  which  we  saw,  and  the  inter- 
pretation thereof,  and  we  shall  tlien 
remain  clear. 

8.  And  they  did  so,  and  they  all 
went  to  the  king  and  bowed  down  to 
him  to  the  ground,  and  they  said, 
may  the  king  live,  may  the  king  live. 

9.  We  heard  that  a  son  was  born 
to  Terah  the  son  of  Nahor,  the  prince 
of  thy  host,  aiKl  we  yesternight  came 
to  his  house,  and  we  ate  and  drank 
and  rejoiced  with  him  that  night. 

10.  And  when  thy  servants  went 
out  from  the  house  of  Terah,  to  go 
to  our  respective  homes  to  abide 
there  for  the  night,  we  lifted  up  our 
eyes  to  heaven,  and  we  saw  a  great 
star  coming  from  the  cast,  and  the 
same  star  ran  with  great  speed,  and 


20 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


swallowed  up  four  great  stars,  from 
the  four  sides  of  the  heavens. 

1 1 .  And  thy  servants  were  aston- 
ished at  the  sight  which  we  saw, 
and  were  greatly  terrified,  and  we 
made  our  judgment  upon  the  sight, 
and  knew  by  our  wisdom  the  proper 
interpretation  thereof,  that  this  thing 
applies  to  the  child  that  is  born  to 
Terah,  who  will  grow  up  and  multi- 
ply greatly,  and  become  powerful, 
and  kill  all  the  kings  of  the  earth, 
and  inherit  all  their  lands,  he  and  his 
seed  forever. 

12.  And  now  our  lord  and  king, 
behold  we  have  truly  acquainted  thee 
with  what  we  have  seen  concerning 
this  child. 

13.  If  it  seemeth  good  to  the  king 
to  give  his  father  value  for  this  child, 
we  will  slay  him  before  he  shall 
grow  up  and  increase  in  the  land, 
and  his  evil  increase  against  us,  that 
we  and  our  children  perish  through 
his  evil. 

14.  And  the  king  heard  their  words 
and  they  seemed  good  in  his  sight, 
and  he  sent  and  called  for  Terah, 
and  Terah  came  before  the  king. 

15.  And  the  king  said  to  Terah, 
I  have  been  told  that  a  son  was  yes- 
ternight born  to  thee,  and  after  this 
manner  was  observed  in  the  heavens 
at  his  birth. 

16.  And  now  therefore  give  me 
the  child,  that  we  may  slay  him  be- 
fore his  evil  springs  up  against  us, 
and  I  will  give  thee  for  his  value, 
thy  house  full  of  silver  and  gold. 

17.  And  Terah  answered  the  king 
and  said  to  him  ;  my  Lord  and  king, 
I  have  heard  thy  words,  and  thy  ser- 
vant shall  do  all  that  his  king  desi- 
reth. 

18.  But  my  lord  and,  king,  I  will 
tell  thee  what  happened  to  me  yes- 
ternight, that  I  may  see  what  advice 


the  king  will  give  his  servant,  and 
then  I  will  answer  the  king  upon 
what  he  has  just  spoken  ;  and  the 
king  said,  speak. 

19.  And  Terah  said  to  the  king, 
Ayon,  son  of  Mored,  came  to  me 
yesternight,   saying, 

20.  Give  unto  me  the  great  and 
beautiful  horse  that  the  king  gave  thee, 
and  I  will  give  thee  silver  and  gold, 
and  stravi^  and  provender  for  its  value  ; 
and  I  said  to  him,  wait  till  I  see  the  king 
concerning  thy  words,  and  behold 
whatever  the  king'saith,  that  will  I  do. 

21.  And  now  my  lord  and\mg, 
behold  I  have  made  this  thing  known 
to  thee,  and  the  advice  which  my 
king  will  give  unto  his  servant,  that 
will  I  follow. 

22.  And  the  king  heard  the  words 
of  Terah,  and  his  anger  was  kindled 
and  he  considered  him  in  the  light  of 
a  fool, 

23.  And  the  king  answered  Terah, 
and  he  said  to  him,  art  thou  so  silly, 
ignorant,  or  deficient  in  understand- 
ing, to  do  this  thing,  to  give  thy  beau- 
tiful horse  for  silver  and  gold  or  even 
for  straw  and  provender  ? 

24.  Art  thou  so  short  of  silver  and 
gold,  that  thou  shouldest  do  this 
thing,  because  thou  canst  not  obtain 
straw  and  provender  to  feed  thy 
horse  ?  and  what  is  silver  and  gold  to 
thee,  or  straw  and  provender,  that 
thou  shouldst  give  away  that  fine 
horse  which  I  gave  thee,  like  which 
there  is  none  to  be  had  on  the  whole 
earth  ? 

25.  And  the  king  left  off  speak- 
ing, and  Terah  answered  the  king, 
saying,  like  unto  this  has  the  king 
spoken  to  his  servant ; 

26.  I  beseech  thee,  my  lord  and 
king,  what  is  this  which  thou  didst 
say  unto  me,  saying,  give  thy  son 
that  we  may  slay  him,  and  I  will 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


21 


give  thee  silver  ai)d  gold  for  his 
value  ;  what  shall  I  do  with  silver 
and  gold  after  the  death  of  my  son  ? 
who  shall  inherit  me  ?  surely  then  at 
my  death,  the  silver  and  gold  will  re- 
turn to  my  king  who  gave  it. 

27.  And  when  the  king  heard  the 
words  of  Terah,  and  the  parable 
which  he  brought  concerning  the 
king,  it  grieved  him  greatly  and  he 
was  vexed  at  this  thing,  and  his  anger 
burned  within  him. 

28.  And  Terah  saw  that  the  an- 
ger of  the  king  was  kindled  against 
him,  and  lie  answered  the  king,  say- 
ing, all  that  I  have  is  in  the  king's 
power  ;  whatever  the  king  desireth 
to  do  to  his  servant,  that  let  him  do, 
yea,  even  mv  son,  he  is  in  the  king's 
power,  without  value  in  exchange,  he 
and  his  two  brothers  that  are  older 
than  he. 

29.  And  the  king  said  to  Terah, 
no,  but  I  will  purchase  thy  younger 
son  for  a  price. 

30.  And  Terah  answered  the 
king,  saying,  I  beseech  thee  my  lord 
and  king  to  let  thy  servant  speak  a 
word  before  thee,  and  let  the  king 
hear  the  word  of  his  servant,  and 
Terah  said,  let  my  king  give  me 
three  days  time  till  I  consider  this 
matter  within  myself,  and  consult 
with  my  family  concerning  the  words 
of  my  king ;  and  he  pressed  the  king 
greatly  to  agree  to  this. 

31.  And  the  king  hearkened  to 
Terah,  and  he  did  so  and  he  gave  him 
three  days  time,  and  Terah  went  out 
from  the  king's  presence,  and  he 
came  home  to  his  family  and  spoke 
to  them  all  the  words  of  the  king ; 
and  the  people  were  greatly  afraid. 

32.  And  it  was  in  the  third  day 
that  the  king  sent  to  Terah,  saying, 
send  me  thy  son  for  a  price  as  I  spoke 
to  thee  ;  and  shouldst   thou  not  do 


this,  I  will  send  and  slav  all  thou 
hast  in  tliy  house,  so  that  thou  shall 
not  even  have  a  dog  remaining. 

33.  And  Terah  hastened,  (as  the 
thing  was  urgent  from  the  king),  and 
he  took  a  child  from  one  of  his  ser- 
vants, which  his  handmaid  had  born 
to  him  that  day,  and  Terah  brougiit 
the  child  to  the  king  and  received 
value  for  him. 

34.  And  the  Lord  was  with  Terah 
in  this  matter,  that  Nimrod  might  not 
cau.5e  Abram's  death,  and  the  king 
took  the  child  from  Terah  and  with 
all  his  might  dashed  his  head  to  the 
ground,  for  he  thought  it  had  been 
Abram;  and  this  was  concealed  from 
him  from  that  day,  and  it  was  forgot- 
ten by  the  king,  as  it  was  the  will  of 
Providence  not  to  suffer  Abram's 
death. 

35.  And  Terah  took  Abram  his 
son  secretly,  together  with  his  mo- 
ther and  nurse,  and  he  concealed 
them  in  a  cave,  and  he  brought  them 
their  provisions  monthly. 

36.  And  the  Lord  was  with  Abram 
in  the  cave  and  he  grew  up,  and 
Abram  was  in  the  cave  ten  years, 
and  the  king  and  his  princes,  sooth- 
sayers and  sages,  thought  that  the 
king  had  killed  Abram. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

1.  And  Haran,  the  son  of  Terah, 
Abram's  oldest  brother,  took  a  wife  in 
those  days. 

2.  Haran  was  thirty-nine  years 
old  when  he  took  her ;  and  the  wife 
of  Haran  conceived  and  bare  a  son, 
and  he  called  his  name  Lot. 

3.  And  she  conceived  again  and 
bare  a  daughter,  and  she  called  her 
name  Milca ;  and  she  again  conceived 
and  bare  a  daughter,  and  she  called 
her  name  Sarai. 


22 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


4.  Haran  was  forty-two  years  old 
when  he  begat  Sarai,  which  was  in 
the  tenth  year  of  the  life  of  Abram ; 
and  in  those  days  Abram  and  his 
mother  and  nurse  went  out  from  the 
cave,  as  the  king  and  his  subjects 
had  forgotten  the  affair  of  Abram. 

5.  And  when  Abram  came  out 
from  the  cave,  he  went  to  Noah  and 
his  son  Shem,  and  he  remained  with 
tliem  to  learn  the  instruction  of  the 
Lord  and  his  ways,  and  no  man  knew 
wher-e  Abram  was,  and  Abram  serv- 
ed Noah  and  Shem  his  son  for  a  long 
time, 

6.  And  Abram  was  in  Noah's 
house  thirty-nine  years,  and  Abram 
knew  the  Lord  from  three  years  old, 
and  he  went  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord 
until  the  day  of  his  death,  as  Noah 
and  his  son  Shem  had  taught  him  ; 
and  all  the  sons  of  the  earth  in  those 
days  greatly  transgressed  against  the 
Lord,  and  they  rebelled  against  him 
and  they  served  other  gods,  and  they 
forgot  the  Lord  who  had  created 
them  in  the  earth  ;  and  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  earth  made  unto  them- 
selves, at  that  time,  every  man  his 
God  ;  gods  of  wood  and  stone  which 
could  neither  speak,  hear,  nor  deli- 
ver, and  the  sons  of  men  served  them 
and  they  became  their  gods. 

7.  And  the  king  and  all  his  ser- 
vants, and  Terah  with  all  his  house- 
hold were  then  the  first  of  those  that 
served  gods  of  wood  and  stone. 

8.  And  Terah  had  twelve  gods  of 
large  size,  made  of  wood  and  stone, 
after  the  twelve  months  of  the  year, 
and  he  served  each  one  monthly,  and 
every  month  Terah  would  bring  his 
weai' offering  and  drink  offeringto  his 
gods  ;  thus  did   Terah  all  the  days. 

9.  And  all  that  generation  were 
wicked  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and 
they  thus  made  every  man  his  god, 


but  they  forsook  the  Lord  who  had 
created  them. 

10.  And  there  was  not  a  man 
found  in  those  days  in  the  whole  earth, 
who  knew  the  Lord  (for  they  served 
each  man  his  own  God)  except  Noah 
and  his  household,  and  all  those  who 
were  under  his  counsel  knew  the 
Lord  in  those  days. 

11.  And  Abram  the  son  of  Terah 
was  waxing  *great  in  those  days  in 
the  house  of  Noah,  and  no  man 
knew  it,  and  the  Lord  was  with  him, 

12.  And  the  Lord  gave  Abram  an 
understanding  heart,  and  he  knew  all 
the  works  of  that  generation  were 
vain,  and  that  all  their  gods  were 
vain  and  were  of  no  avail. 

13.  And  Abram  saw  the  sun 
shining  upon  the  earth,  and  Abram 
said  unto  himself  surely  now  this 
sun  that  shines  upon  the  earth  is  God, 
and  him  will  I  serve. 

14.  And  Abram  served  the  sun  in 
that  day  and  he  prayed  to  him,  and 
when  evening  came  the  sun  set  as 
usual,  and  Abram  said  Avilhin  him- 
self, surely  this  cannot  be  God  ? 

15.  And  Abram  still  continued  to 
speak  within  himself,  who  is  he  who 
made  the  heavens  and  the  earth  ? 
who  created  upon  earth?  where  is  he? 

16.  And  night  darkened  over  him, 
and  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  toward 
the  west,  north,  south  and  east,  and 
he  saw  that  the  sun  had  vanished 
from  the  earth,  and  the  day  became 
dark. 

1 7.  And  Abram  saw  the  stars  and 
moon  before  him,  and  he  said,  surely 
this  is  the  God  who  created  the 
whole  earth  as  Avell  as  man,  and 
behold  these  his  servants  are  gods 
around  him ;  and  Abram  served  the 
moon  and  prayed  to  it  all  that  night. 

*  In  divine  truths,  as  is  explained  in  the  next 
verse. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


23 


18.  And  in  the  morning  when  it 
was  Hght  and  the  sun  shone  upon 
the  earth  as  usual,  Abrani  saw  all 
the  things  that  the  Lord  God  had 
made  upon  earth. 

19.  And  Abram  said  unto  himself, 
surely  these  are  not  gods  that  made 
the  earth  and  all  mankind,  but  these 
are  the  servants  of  God ;  and  Abrani 
remained  in  the  house  of  Noah  and 
there  knew  the  Lord  and  his  ways, 
and  he  served  the  Lord  all  the  days 
of  his  life,  and  all  that  generation 
forgot  the  Lord,  and  served  other 
gods  of  wood  and  stone,  and  rebel- 
led all  their  days. 

20.  And  king  Nimrod  reigned  se- 
curely, and  all  the  earth  was  under 
his  control,  and  all  the  earth  was  of 
one  tongue  and  words  of  union. 

21.  And  all  the  princes  of  Nimrod 
and  his  great  men  took  counsel  to- 
gether ;  Phut,  Mitzraim,  Gush  and 
Canaan  with  their  families,  and  they 
said  to  each  other,  come  let  us  build 
ourselves  a  city  and  in  it  a  strong 
tower,  and  its  top  reaching  heaven, 
and  we  will  make  ourselves  famed, 
so  that  we  may  reign  upon  the  whole 
world,  in  order  that  the  evil  of  our 
enemies  may  cease  from  us,  that  we 
may  reign  mightily  over  them,  and 
that  we  may  not  become  scattered 
over  the  earth  on  account  of  their 
wars. 

22.  And  they  all  went  before  the 
king,  and  they  told  the  king  these 
words,  and  the  king  agreed  with 
them  in  this  affair,  and  he  did  so. 

23.  And  all  the  families  assembkjd 
consisting  of  about  six  hundred 
thousand  men,  and  they  went  to 
seek  an  extensive  piece  of  ground 
to  build  the  city  and  the  tower,  and 
they  sought  in  the  whole  earth  and 
they  found  none  hke  one  valley  at 
the  east  of  the  land  of  Shinar,  about 


two  days'  walk,  and  they  journeyed 
there  and  they  dwelt  there. 

24.  And  they  began  to  make 
bricks  and  burn  hrcs  to  build  the  city 
and  the  tower  that  they  had  imagined 
to  complele. 

25.  And  the  building  of  the  tower 
was  unto  them  a  transgression  and 
a  sin,  and  they  began  to  build  it,  and 
whilst  they  were  building  against 
the  Lord  God  of  heaven,  they  imagin- 
ed in  their  hearts  to  war  against  him 
and  to  ascend  into  heaven. 

26.  And  all  these  people  and  all 
the  families  divided  themselves  in 
three  parts  ;  the  first  said  we  will  as- 
cend into  heaven  and  fight  against 
him ;  the  second  said,  we  will  ascend 
to  heaven  and  place  our  own  gods 
there  and  serve  them ;  and  the  third 
part  said,  we  will  ascend  to  heaven 
and  smite  him  with  bows  and  spears; 
and  God  knew  all  their  works  and 
all  their  evil  thoughts,  and  he  saw 
the  city  and  the  tower  which  they 
were  building. 

27.  And  when  they  were  building 
they  built  themselves  a  great  city  and 
a  very  high  and  strong  tower ;  and  on 
account  of  its  height  the  mortar  and 
bricks  did  not  reach  the  builders  in 
their  ascent  to  it,  until  those  who  went 
up  had  completed  a  full  year,  and 
after  that,  they  reached  to  the  buil- 
ders and  gave  them  the  mortar  and 
bricks ;  thus  was  it  done  daily. 

28.  And  behold  these  ascended 
and  others  descended  the  whole  day  ; 
and  if  a  brick  should  fall  from  their 
hands  and  get  broken,  they  would  all 
weep  over  it,  and  if  a  man  fell  and 
died,  none  of  them  would  look  at  him. 

29.  And  the  Lord  knew  their 
thoughts,  and  it  came  to  pass  when 
they  were  building  they  cast  the 
arrows  toward  the  heavens,  and  all 
the  arrows  fell  upon  them  filled  with 


24 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


blood,  and  when  ihey  saw  them 
they  said  to  each  other,  surely  we 
have  slain  all  those  that  are  in  heaven. 

30.  For  this  was  from  the  Lord 
in  order  to  cause  them  to  err,  and  in 
order  to  destroy  them  from  off  the 
face  of  the  ground, 

3 1 .  And  they  built  the  tower  and  the 
city,  and  they  did  this  thing  daily  until 
many  days  and  years  were  elapsed. 

32.  And  God  said  to  the  seventy 
angels  who  stood  foremost  before 
him,  to  those  who  were  near  to  him, 
saying,  come  let  us  descend  and  con- 
fuse their  tongues,  that  one  man  shall 
not  understand  the  language  of  his 
neighbor,  and  they  did  so  unto  them. 

33.  And  from  that  day  following, 
they  forgot  each  man  his  neighbor's 
tongue,  and  they  could  not  under- 
stand to  speak  in  one  tongue,  and 
when  the  builder  took  from  the  hands 
of  his  neighbor  lime  or  stone  which 
he  did  not  order,  the  builder  would 
cast  it  away  and  throw  it  upon  his 
neighbor,  that  he  would  die. 

34.  And  they  did  so  many  days, 
and  they  killed  many  of  them  in 
this  manner. 

35.  And  the  Lord  smote  the  three 
divisions  that  were  there,  and  he 
punished  them  according  to  their 
works  and  designs  ;  those  who  said, 
we  will  ascend  to  heaven  and  serve 
our  Gods,  became  *like  apes  and 
elephants  ;  and  those  who  said,  we 
will  smite  the  heaven  with  arrows, 
the  Lord  killed  them,  one  man 
through  the  hand  of  his  neighbor ; 

*A  long  note  I  have  upon  this,  as  it  might  be 
translated,  "  and  they  became  apes  and  ele- 
phants," this  being  the  example  of  the  work  in 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Adam  of  Calcutta,  sent  to 
me  by  the  royal  Asiatic  society,  to  see  if  it 
were  like  mine.  The  words  are  "  and  his 
heart  died  within  him,  and  he  became"  (not  a 
stone)  but  "  like  unto  a  stone,"  as  it  is  rightly 
translated  in  the  English  Bible. 


and  the  third  division  of  those  who 
said,  we  will  ascend  to  heaven  and 
fight  against  him,  the  Lord  scattered 
them  throughout  the  earth. 

36.  And  those  who  were  left 
amongst  them,  when  they  knew  and 
understood  the  evil  which  was  com- 
ing upon  them,  they  forsook  the 
building,  and  they  also  became  scat- 
tered upon  the  face  of  the  whole  earth. 

37.  And  they  ceased  building  the 
city  and  the  tower  ;  therefore  he 
called  that  place  Babel,  for  there 
the  Lord  confounded  the  language  of 
the  whole  earth ;  behold  it  ivas  at 
the  east  of  the  land  of  Shinar. 

38.  And  as  to  the  tower  which  the 
sons  of  men  built,  the  earth  opened 
its  mouth  and  swallowed  up  one  third 
part  thereof,  and  a  fire  also  descend- 
ed from  heaven  and  burned  another 
third,  and  the  other  third  is  left  to  this 
day,  and  it  is  of  that  part  which  was 
aloft,  and  its  circumference  is  *three 
days'  walk. 

39.  And  many  of  the  sons  of  men 
died  in  that  lower,  a  people  without 
number. 

CHAPTER  X. 

1.  And  Peleg  the  son  of  Eber 
died  in  those  days,  in  the  forty- 
eighth  year  of  the  life  of  Abram  son 
of  Terah,  and  all  the  days  of  Terah 
were  two  hundred  and  thirty  nine 
years. 

*  This  cannot  be  the  tower  that  Herodotus 
saw,  though  it  might  be  erected  on  the  same 
spot ;  reckoning  a  day's  walk  10  miles,  as  is  sup- 
posed by  the  best  Christian  commentators,  its 
circumference  will  be  30  miles.  This  will  not 
appear  so  very  astonishing  when  it  is  consider- 
ed that  six  hundred  thousand  men  were  employ- 
ed in  erecting  it,  and,  as  Jasher  tells,  they  were 
many  years  engaged  in  this  infamous  work  ; 
and  it  will  not  exceed  credibility,  when  it  is  re- 
membered that  the  wall  of  China  is  1500  miles 
in  length. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


25 


2.  And  when  ihe  Lord  had  scat- 
tered the  sons  of  men  on  account  of 
their  sin  at  the  tower,  behold  they 
spread  forth  into  many  divisions,  and 
all  the  sons  of  men  were  dispersed 
into  the  four  corners  of  the  earth. 

3.  And  all  the  families  became 
each  according  to  its  language,  its 
land,  or  its  city. 

4.  And  the  sons  of  men  built 
many  cities  according  to  their  fami- 
lies, in  all  the  places  where  they 
went,  and  throughout  the  earth  where 
the  Lord  had  scattered  them. 

5.  And  some  of  them  built  cities  in 
places  from  which  they  were  after- 
warc^extirpated,  and  they  called  these 
cities  after  their  own  names,  or  the 
names  of  their  children,  or  after  their 
2)articidcu'  occurrences, 

b".  And  the  sons  of  Japheth  the 
son  of  Noah  went  and  built  them- 
selves cities  in  the  places  where  they 
were  scattered,  and  they  called  all 
their  cities  after  their  names,  and  the 
sons  of  Japheth  were  divided  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth  into  many  di- 
visions and  lancruages. 

7.  And  these  are  the  sons  of  Ja- 
pheth according  to  their  families, 
Gomer,  Magog,  Medai,  Javan,  Tu- 
bal, Meshech  and  Tiras  ;  these  are 
the  children  of  Japheth  according  to 
their  generations. 

8.  And  the  children  of  Gomer,  ac- 
cording to  their  cities,  were  the  Fran- 
cum  who  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Franza 
by  the  river  Fran za  by  the  river  Senah. 

9.  And  the  children  of  Rephath 
are  the  Bartonim,  who  dwell  in  the 
land  of  Bartonia  by  the  river  Ledah 
which  empties  its  waters  in  the  great 
*sea  Gihon,  that  is,  oceanus. 

*■  This  is  the  same  as  the  river  Gihon  men- 
tioned in  ch.  5,  which  overflowed  and  destroyed 
part  jf  the  earth.  In  the  Hebrew  d^  sea,  and 
"mi  river  are  frequently  put  for  each  other. 


10.  And  the  children  of  Tugarma 
are  ten  families,  and  these  are  their 
names ;  Buzar,  Parzunac,  Balgar, 
Elicanum,  Ragbib,  Tarki,  Bid,  Ze- 
buc,  Ongal  and  Tilmaz  ;  all  these 
spread  and  rested  in  the  North  and 
built  themselves  cities. 

1 1 .  And  they  called  their  cities 
after  their  own  names,  those  are  they 
who  abide  by  the  rivers  Hithlah  and 
Italac  unto  litis  day. 

12.  But  tlie  families  of  Angoli, 
Balgar  and  Parzunac,  they  dwell  by 
the  great  river  Dubnee ;  and  the 
names  of  their  cities  arc  also  ac- 
cording to  their  own  names. 

13.  And  the  children  of  Javan  are 
the  Javanim  who  dwell  in  the  land 
of  Makdonia,  and  tlie  children  of 
Madai  ai'e  the  Orelum  that  dwell  in 
the  land  of  Curson,  and  the  children 
of  Tubal  are  those  that  dwell  in  the 
land  of  Tuskanah  by  the  river  Pa- 
shiah. 

14.  And  the  children  of  Meshech 
are  the  Shibashni  and  the  children 
of  Tiras  are  Rushash,  Cushni,  and 
Ongolis ;  all  these  went  and  built 
themselves  cities;  those  are  the  cities 
that  are  situate  by  the  sea  Jabus  by' 
the  river  Cura,  which  empties  itself 
in  the  river  Tragan. 

15.  And  the  children  of  Elishah 
are  the  Almanim,  and  they  also  went 
and  built  themselves  cities ;  those 
are  the  cities  situate  between  the 
mountains  of  Job  and  Shibathmo  ; 
and  of  them  were  the  people  of 
Lumbardi  who  dwell  opposite  the 
mountains  of  Job  and  Shibathmo, 
and  they  conquered  the  land  of  Itaha 
and  remained  there  unto  this  day. 

16.  And  the  children  of  Chittim 
are  the  Romim  who  dwell  in  the 
valley  of  Canopia  by  the  river  Ti- 
breu. 

17.  And  the  children  of  Dudonim 


26 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


are  those  who  dwell  in  the  cities  of 
the  sea  Gihon  in  the  land  of  Bordna. 

18.  These  are  the  families  of  the 
children  of  Japheth  according  to 
their  cities  and  languages,  when  they 
were  scattered  after  the  tower,  and 
they  called  their  cities  after  their 
names  and  occurrences ;  and  these 
are  the  names  of  all  their  cities  ac- 
cording to  their  families,  which  they 
built  in  those  days  after  the  tower. 

19.  And  the  children  of  Ham 
were  Cush,  Mitzraim,  Phut  and  Ca- 
naan according  to  their  generation 
and  cities. 

20.  All  these  went  and  built  them- 
selves cities  as  they  found  Jit  -places 
for  them,  and  they  called  their  cities 
after  the  names  of  their  fathers  Cush, 
Mitzraim,  Phut  and  Canaan. 

21.  And  the  children  of  Mitz- 
raim are  the  Ludim,  Anamim,  Leha- 
bim,  Naphtuchim,  Pathrusim,  Cas- 
luchim  and  Caphturim,  seven  families. 

22.  All  these  dwell  by  the  river 
Sihor,  that  is  the  brook  of  Egypt, 
and  they  built  themselves  cities  and 
called  them  after  their  own  names. 

23.  And  the  children  of  Pathros 
and  Casloch  intermarried  together, 
and  from  them  went  forth  the  Pelish- 
tim,  the  Azathim,  and  the  Gerarim, 
the  Githim  and  the  Ekronim,  in  all 
five  families  ;  these  also  buih.  them- 
selves cities,  and  they  called  their 
cities  after  the  names  of  their  fathers 
unto  this  day. 

24.  And  the  children  of  Canaan 
also  built  themselves  cities,  and  they 
called  their  cities  after  their  names, 
eleven  cities  and  others  without 
number. 

25.  And  four  men  from  the  fami- 
ly of  Ham  went  to  the  land  of  the 
plain  ;  these  are  the  names  of  the 
four  men,  Sodom,  Gomorrah,  Admah 
and  Zeboyim. 


26.  And  these  men  built  them- 
selves four  cities  in  the  land  of  the 
plain,  and  they  called  the  names  of 
their  cities  after  their  own  names. 

27.  And  they  and  their  children 
and  all  belonging  to  them  dwelt  in 
those  cities,  and  they  were  fruitful 
and  multiplied  greatly  and  dwelt 
peaceably. 

28.  And  Seir  the  son  of  Hur, 
son  of  Hivi,  son  of  Canaan,  went 
and  found  a  valley  opposite  to  Mount 
Paran,  and  he  built  a  city  there,  and 
he  and  his  seven  sons  and  his  house- 
hold dwelt  there,  and  he  called  the 
city  which  he  built  Seir,  according 
to  his  name ;  that  is  the  land  of 
Seir  unto  this  day. 

29.  These  are  the  families  of  the 
children  of  Ham,  according  to  their 
languages  and  cities,  M'hen  they 
were  scattered  to  their  countries 
after  the  tower. 

30.  And  some  of  the  children  of 
Shem  son  of  Noah,  father  of  all  the 
children  of  Eber,  also  went  and 
built  themselves  cities  in  the  places 
wherein  they  w^ere  scattered,  and 
they  called  their  cities  after  their 
names. 

31.  And  the  sons  of  Shem  were 
Elam,  Ashur,  Arpachshad,  Lud  and 
Aram,  and  they  built  themselves 
cities  and  called  the  names  of  all 
their  cities  after  their  names. 

32.  And  Ashur  son  of  Shem  and 
his  children  and  household  went 
forth  at  that  time,  a  very  large  body 
of  them,  and  they  went  to  a  distant 
land  that  they  found,  and  they  met 
with  a  very  extensive  valley  in  the 
land  that  they  went  to,  and  they 
built  themselves  four  cities,  and  they 
called  them  after  their  own  names 
and  occurrences. 

33.  And  these  are  the  names  of 
the  cities  which  the  children  of  Ash- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


27 


ur  built,  Ninevali,  Resen,  Calach 
and  Rchoholher;  and  tlie  children 
of  Asliur  dwell  there  unto  this  day. 

34.  And  the  children  of  Aram  also 
went  and  built  themselves  a  city,  and 
they  called  the  name  of  the  city  Uz 
after  their  eldest  brother,  and  they 
dwelt  therein  ;  that  is  the  land  of 
Uz  to  this  day. 

35.  And  in  the  second  year  after 
the  tower  a  man  from  the  house  of 
Ashur,  whose  name  was  Bela,  went 
from  the  land  of  Ninevah  to  sojourn 
with  his  household  wherever  he 
could  find  a  place;  and  they  came 
until  opposite  the  cities  of  the  plain 
against  ISodom,  and  they  dwelt  there. 

36.  And  the  man  rose  up  and 
built  there  a  small  city,  and  called 
its  name  Bela  after  his  name  ;  that 
is  the  land  of  Zoar  unto  this  day. 

37.  And  these  are  the  families  of 
the  children  of  Shem  according  to 
their  language  and  cities,  after  they 
w^ere  scattered  upon  the  earth  after 
the  tower. 

38.  And  every  kingdom,  city  and 
family  of  the  families  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Noah  built  themselves  many 
cities  after  this. 

39.  And  they  established  govern- 
ments in  all  their  cities,  in  order  to 
be  regulated  by  their  orders  ;  so  did 
all  the  families  of  the  children  of 
Noah  forever. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

1 .  And  Nimrod  son  of  Cush  was 
still  in  the  land  of  Shinar,  and  he 
reigned  over  it  and  dwelt  there,  and 
he  built  cities  in  the  land  of  Shinar. 

2.  And  these  are  the  names  of 
the  four  cities  which  he  built,  and 
he  called  their  names  after  the  oc- 
currences that  happened  to  them  in 
the  building  of  the  tower. 


3.  And  he  called  the  first  Babel, 
saying,  because  the  Lord  there  con- 
founded the  language  of  the  whole 
earth  ;  and  the  name  of  the  second 
he  called  *Ercch,  because  from  there 
God  dispersed  them. 

4.  iVnd  the  third  he  called  tEched, 
saying,  there  was  a  great  battle  at 
that  place  ;  and  the  fourth  he  called 
Calnah,  because  his  princes  and 
mighty  men  were  consumed  there, 
and  they  vexed  the  Lord,  they  rebel- 
led and  transgressed  against  him. 

5.  And  when  Nimrod  had  built 
these  cities  in  the  land. of  Shinar,  he 
placed  in  them  the  remainder  of 
his  people,  his  princes  and  his  mighty 
men  that  were  left  in  his  kingdom. 

6.  And  Nimrod  dwelt  in  Babel, 
and  he  there  renewed  his  reign  over 
the  rest  of  his  subjects,  and  he 
reigned  securely,  and  the  subjects 
and  princes  of  Nimrod  called  his 
name  Amraphel,  saying  that  at  the 
tower  his  princes  and  men  fell 
through  his  means. 

7.  And  notwithstanding  this,  Nim- 
rod did  not  return  to  the  Lord,  and 
he  continued  in  w^ickedness  and 
teaching  wickedness  to  the  sons  of 
men  ;  and  Mardon  his  son  was 
worse  than  his  father,  and  continued 
to  add  to  ^he  abominations  of  his 
father. 

8.  And  he  caused  the  sons  of  men 
to  sin,  therefore  it  is  said,  from  the 
wicked  goeth  forth  wickedness. 

9.  At  that  time  there  w^as  war  be- 
tween the  families  of  the  children 
of  Ham,  as  they  were  dwelling  in 
the  cities  which  they  had  built. 

10.  And  Chedorlaomer,  king  of 
Elara,  went  away  from  the  families  of 

*  TIN  like  o^n:n  i3nN<i,  as  Kimchi  explains 
it,  that  they  drew  tht'in  out. 

t  nsN  is  a  term  for  battle,  from  C'N  nn'D, 
sparks  of  fire. 


28 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


the  children  of  Ham,  and  he  fought 
with  them  and  he  subdued  them,  and 
he  went  to  the  five  cities  of  the 
plain  and  he  fought  against  them  and 
he  subdued  them,  and  they  were 
under  his  control. 

11.  And  they  served  him  twelve 
years,  and  they  gave  him  a  yearly  tax. 

12.  At  that  time  died  Nahor,  son 
of  Serug,  in  the  forty  ninth  year  of 
the  life  of  Abram  son  of  Terah. 

13.  And  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  the 
life  of  Abram  son  of  Terah,  Abram 
came  forth  from  the  house  of  Noah, 
and  went  to  his  father's  house. 

14.  And  Abram  knew  the  Lord, 
and  he  went  in  his  ways  and  instruc- 
tions, and  the  Lord  his  God  was 
with  him. 

15.  And  Terah  his  father  was  in 
those  days  still  captain  of  the  host 
of  king  Nimrod,  and  he  still  follow- 
ed strange  gods. 

16.  Ajid  Abram  came  to  his 
father's  house  and  saw  twelve  gods 
standing  there  in  their  temples,  and  the 
anger  of  Abram  was  kindled  when  he 
saw  these  images  in  his  father's  house. 

17.  And  Abram  said,  as  the  Lord 
liveth  these  images  shall  not  remain 
in  my  father's  house  ;  so  shall  the 
Lord  who  created  me  do  unto  me  if 
in  three  days'  time  I  do  not  break 
them  all. 

18.  And  Abram  went  from  them, 
and  his  anger  burned  within  him. 
And  Abram  hastened  and  went 
from  the  chamber  to  his  father's 
outer  court,  and  he  found  his  fatlier 
sitting  in  the  court,  and  all  his  ser- 
vants with  him,  and  Abram  came 
and  sat  before  him. 

19.  And  Abram  asked  his  father, 
saying,  Father,  tell  me  where  is  God 
who  created  heaven  and  earth,  and 
all  the  sons  of  m.en  upon  earth,  and 
who  created  thee  and  me.     And  Te- 


rah answered  his  son  Abram  and 
said,  behold  those  who  created  us 
are  all  with  us  in  the  house. 

20.  And  Abram  said  to  his  father, 
my  lord  shew  them  to  me  I  pray 
thee  ;  and  Terah  brought  Abram  into 
the  chamber  of  the  inner  court,  and 
Abram  saw,  and  behold  the  whole 
room  was  full  of  gods  of  wood  and 
stone,  twelve  great  images  and  oth- 
ers less  than  they  without  number. 

21.  And  Terah  said  to  his  son, 
behold  these  are  they  which  made 
all  thou  seest  upon  earth,  and  which 
created  me  and  thee,  and  all  man- 
kind. 

22.  And  Terah  bowed  down  1o 
his  gods,  and  he  then  went  away 
from  them,  and  Abram  his  son  went 
away  with  iiim. 

23.  And  when  Abram  had  gone 
from  them  he  went  to  his  mother  and 
sat  before  her,  and  he  said  to  his 
mother,  behold,  my  father  has  shown 
me  those  who  made  heaven  and 
earth,  and  all  the  sons  of  men. 

24.  Now  therefore  hasten  and 
fetch  a  kid  from  the  flock,  and  make 
of  it  savour)'-  meat,  that  I  may  bring 
it  to  my  father's  gods  as  an  offering 
for  them  to  eat ;  perhaps  I  may 
thereby  become  acceptable  to  them. 

25.  And  his  mother  did  so,  and 
she  fetched  a  kid,  and  made  savoury 
meat  thereof,  and  brought  it  to 
Abram,  and  Abram  took  the  savoury 
meat  from  his  mother  and  brought  it 
before  his  father's  gods,  and  he 
drew  nigh  to  them  that  they  might 
eat  ;  and  Terah  his  father  did  not 
know  of  it. 

26.  And  Abram  saw  on  the  day 
when  he  was  sitting  amongst  them 
that  they  had  no  voice,  no  hearing, 
no  motion,  and  not  one  of  them  could 
stretch  forth  his  hand  to  eat. 

27.  And    Abram    mocked   them, 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


39 


and  said,  surely  the  savoury  meat 
that  I  prepared  has  not  pleased  them, 
ov  per/uqjs  it  was  too  httle  for  them, 
and  for  that  reason  they  would  not 
eat ;  therefore  to-morrow  I  will  pre- 
pare fresii  savoury  meat,  belter  and 
more  plentiful  than  this,  in  order 
that  I  may  see  the  result. 

28.  And  it  was  on  the  next  day 
that  Abram  directed  his  mother  con- 
cerning the  savoury  meat,  and  his 
mother  rose  and  fetched  three  fine 
kids  from  the  flock,  and  she  made  of 
them  some  excellent  savoury  meat, 
such  as  her  son  was  fond  of,  and  she 
gave  it  to  her  son  Abram  ;  and  Te- 
rali  his  father  did  not  know  of  it. 

29.  And  Abram  look  the  savoury 
meat  from  his  mother,  and  brought 
it  before  his  father's  gods  into  the 
chamber;  and  he  came  nigh  unto 
them  that  they  might  eat,  and  he 
placed  it  before  them,  and  Abram 
sat  before  them  all  day,*  thinking  per- 
haps tkey  might  eat. 

30.  And  Abram  viewed  them,  and 
behold  they  had  neither  voice  nor 
hearing,  nor  did  one  of  them  stretch 
forth  his  hand  to  the  meat  to  eat. 

31.  And  in  the  evening  of  that 
day  in  that  house  Abram  was  clothed 
with  the  spirit  of  God. 

32.  And  he  called  out  and  said, 
wo  unto  my  father  and  this  wicked 

*  This  is  continued  in  the  same  heautiful  strain 
of  irony  as  the  whole  ;  his  first  visit  to  the  idols 
with  the  first  dish,  his  troubling  his  mother  to 
make  fresh  delicacies,  fearing  the  first  was  not 
good  enough,  and  then  his  sitting  there  all  day 
watching  them  if  they  would  eat,  were  all  to 
afford  him  materials  for  making  a  noble  and  for- 
cible appeal  to  his  father,  to  show  him  that  he 
exerted  his  best  efforts  to  please  his  gods  ;  that 
he  attended  twice  upon  them  to  try  their  ap- 
petites with  the  most  relishing  dishes,  and  that 
he  did  not  do  this  in  haste,  but  that  he  had 
watched  them  the  whole  day  to  see  of  what  his 
gods  were  capable.  This  strain  of  irony  is  not 
much  inferior  to  that  where  Elisha  calls  on  the 
worshippers  of  Baal. 


generation,  whose  hearts  are  all  in- 
clined to  vanity,  who  serve  these 
idols  of  wood  and  slone  which  can 
neither  eat,  smell,  hear  nor  speak, 
who  have  mouths  without  speech, 
eyes  without  sight,  ears  without 
hearing,  hands  without  feeling,  and 
legs  which  cannot  move  ;  like  them 
are  those  that  made  them  and  that 
trust  in  them . 

33.  And  when  Abram  saw  all 
these  things  his  anger  was  kindled 
against  his  father,  and  he  hastened 
and  took  a  hatchet  in  his  hand,  and 
came  unto  the  chamber  of  the  gods, 
and  he  broke  all  his  father's  gods. 

34.  And  when  he  had  done  break- 
ing the  images,  he  placed  the  hatchet 
in  the  hand  of  the  great  god  which 
was  there  before  them,  and  he  went 
out ;  and  Terah  his  father  came 
home,  for  he  had  heard  at  the  door 
the  sound  of  the  striking  of  the  hatch- 
et ;  so  Terah  came  into  the  house 
to  know  what  this  was  about. 

35.  And  Terah,  having  heard  the 
noise  of  the  hatchet  in  the  room  of 
images,  ran  to  the  room  to  the  ima- 
ges, and  he  met  Abram  going  out. 

36.  And  Terah  entered  the  room 
and  found  all  the  idols  fallen  down 
and  broken,  and  the  hatchet  in  the 
hand  of  the'largest,  which  was  not 
broken,  and  the  savoury  meat  which 
Abram  his  son  had  made  was  still 
before  them. 

37.  And  when  Terah  saw  this  his 
anger  was  greatly  kindled,  and  he 
hastened  and  went  from  the  room  to 
Abram. 

30.  And  he  found  Abram  his  son 
still  sitting  in  the  house  ;  and  he  said 
to  him,  what  is  this  work  thou  hast 
done  to  my  gods  ? 

39.  And  Abram  answered  Terah 
his  father  and  he  said,  not  so  my 
lord,  for  I   brought   savoury    meat 


30 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


before  them,  and  when  I  came  nigh 
to  them  with  the  meat  that  they 
might  eat,  they  all  at  once  stretched 
forth  their  hands  to  eat  before  the 
great  one  had  put  forth  his  hand  to 
eat. 

40.  And  tlie  large  one  saw  their 
works  that  they  did  before  him,  and 
his  anger  was  violently  khidled 
against  them,  and  he  went  and  took 
the  hatchet  that  was  in  the  house  and 
came  to  them  and  broke  them  all, 
and  behold  the  hatchet  is  yet  in  his 
hand  as  thou  seest. 

4J.  And  Terah's  anger  was  kin- 
dled against  his  son  Abram,  when 
he  spoke  this ;  and  Terah  said  to 
Abram  his  son  in  his  anger,  what  is 
this  tale  that  thou  hast  told  ?  Thou 
speakest  lies  to  me. 

42.  Is  there  in  these  gods  spirit, 
soul  or  power  to  do  all  thou  hast  told 
me  ?  Are  they  not  wood  and  stone, 
and  have  I  not  myself  made  them, 
and  canst  thou  speak  such  lies,  say- 
ing that  the  large  god  that  was  with 
them  smote  them  ?  It  is  thou  that 
didst  place  the  hatchet  in  his  hands, 
and  then  sayest  he  smote  them  all. 

43.  And  Abram  answered  his  fa- 
ther and  said  to  him,  and  how  canst 
thou  then  serve  these  idols  in  whom 
there  is  no  power  to  do  any  thing  ? 
Can  those  idols  in  which  thou  trust- 
est  deliver  thee  ?  can  they  hear  thy 
prayers  when  thou  callest  upon 
ihem''  can  they  deliver  thee  from  the 
hands  of  thy  enemies,  or  will  they 
fight  thy  battles  for  thee  against  thy 
enemies,  that  thou  shouldst  serve 
wood  and  stone  which  can  neither 
speak  nor  hear  ? 

44.  And  now  surely  it  is  not  good  for 
thee  nor  for  the  sons  of  men  that  are 
connected  with  thee,  to  do  these 
things  ;  are  you  so  silly,  so  foolish  or  so 
short  of  understanding  that  you  will 


serve  wood  and  stone,   and   do  after 
this   manner  ? 

45.  And  forget  the  Lord  God  who 
made  heaven  and  earth,  and  who  cre- 
ated you  in  the  earth,  and  thereby 
bring  a  great  evil  upon  your  souls  in 
this  matter  by  serving  stone  and 
wood  ? 

46.  Did  not  our  fathers  in  days  of 
old  sin  in  this  manner,  and  the  Lord 
God  of  the  universe  brought  the 
waters  of  the  flood  upon  them  and 
destroyed  the  whole  earth? 

47.  And  how  can  you  continue  to 
do  this  and  serve  gods  of  wood  and 
stone,  who  cannot  hear,  or  speak,  or 
deliver  you  from  oppression,  thereby 
bringing  down  the  anger  of  the  God 
of  the  universe  upon  you  ? 

48.  Now  therefore  my  father  re- 
frain from  this,  and  bring  not  evil  upon 
thy  soul  and  the  souls  of  thy  house- 
hold, 

49.  And  Abram  hastened  and 
sprang  from  before  his  father,  and 
took  the  hatchet  from  his  father's  lar- 
gest idol,  with  which  Abram  broke 
it  and  ran  away. 

50.  And  Terah,  seeing  all  that 
Abram  had  done,  hastened  to  go  from 
his  house,  and  he  went  to  the  king 
and  he  came  before  Nimrod  and  stood 
before  him,  and  he  bowed  down  to 
the  king  ;  and  the  king  said,  what 
dost  thou  want  ? 

51 .  And  he  said,  I  beseech  thee  my 
lord,  tohearme — now  fifty  years  back' 
a  child  was  born  to  me,  and  thus  has 
he  done  to  my  gods  and  thus  has  he 
spoken  ;  and  now  therefore,  my  lord 
and  king,  send  for  him  that  he  may 
come  before  thee,  and  judge  him  ac- 
cording to  the  law,  that  we  may  be 
delivered  from  his  evil. 

52.  And  the  king  sent  three  men 
of  his  servants,  and  they  went  and 
brought    Abram    before   the    king. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


31 


And  Nimrod  and  all  his  princes  and 
jicrvants  were  that  day  silting  before 
him,  and  Terah  sat  also  before  them. 

53.  And  the  king  said  to  Abram, 
what  is  this  that  thou  hast  done  to 
thy  father  and  to  his  gods  ?  And 
Abram  answered  the  king  in  the 
words  that  he  spoke  to  his  father,  and 
he  said,  the  large  god  that  was  with 
them  in  the  house  did  to  them  what 
thou  hast  heard. 

54.  And  the  king  said  to  Abram, 
had  they  power  to  speak  and  eat  and 
do  as  thou  hast  said  ?  And  Abram 
answered  the  king,  saying,  and  if 
there  be  no  power  in  them  why  dost 
thou  serve  them  and  cause  the  sons 
of  men  to  err  through  thy  follies  ? 

55.  Dost  thou  imagine  that  tiiey 
can  deliver  thee  or  do  any  thing  small 
or  great,  that  thou  shouldst  serve 
them  ?  And  why  wilt  thou  not  serve 
the  God  of  the  whole  universe,  who 
created  thee  and  in  whose  power  it 
is  to  kill  and  to  keep  alive  ? 

56.  O  foolish,  simple,  and  igno- 
rant king,  woe  unto  thee  forever. 

57.  I  thought  thou  wouldst  teach 
thy  servants  the  upright  way,  but 
thou  hast  not  done  this,  but  hast  fil- 
led the  whole  earth  with  thy  sins  and 
the  sins  of  thy  people  who  have  fol- 
lowed thy  ways. 

58.  Dost  thou  not  know,  or  hast 
thou  not  heard,  that  this  evil  which 
thou  doest,  our  ancestors  sinned  there- 
in in  days  of  old,  and  the  eternal  God 
brought  the  waters  of  the  flood  upon 
them  and  destroyed  them  all,  and 
also  destroyed  the  whole  earth  on 
their  account  ?  And  wilt  thou  and 
ihy  people  rise  up  now  and  do  like 
unto  this  work,  in  order  to  bring 
down  the  anger  of  the  Lord  God  of 
the  universe,  and  to  bring  evil  upon 
thee  and  the  whole  earth  ? 

59.  Now  therefore  put  away  this 


evil  deed  which  *thou  doest,  and 
serve  the  God  of  the  universe,  as 
thy  soul  is  in  his  hands,  and  then  it 
will  be  well  with  thee. 

60.  And  if  thy  wicked  heart  will 
not  hearken  to  my  words  to  cause 
thee  to  forsake  thy  evil  ways  and  to 
serve  the  eternal  God,  then  wilt  thou 
die  in  shame  in  the  latter  days,  thou, 
thy  people  and  all  who  are  connect- 
ed with  thee,  hearing  thy  words  or 
walking  in  thy  evil  ways. 

61.  And  w^hen  Abram  had  ceased 
speaking  before  the  king  and  princes, 
Abram  lifted  up  his  eyes  to  the 
heavens,  and  he  said,  the  Lord  seeth 
all  the  wicked  and  he  will  judge 
them. 

CHAPTER  XIL 

1 .  And  when  the  king  heard  the 
words  of  Abram  he  ordered  him  to 
be  put  into  prison  ;  and  Abram  was 
ten  days  in  prison. 

2.  And  at  the  end  of  those  days 
the  king  ordered  that  all  the  kings, 
princes  and  governors  of  different 
provinces  and  the  sages  should  come 
before  him,  and  they  sat  before  him, 
and  Abram  was  still  in  the  house  of 
confinement. 

3.  And  the  king  said  to  the  prin- 
ces and  sages,  have  you  heard  what 
Abram  the  son  of  Terah  has  done 
to  his  father  ?  Thus  has  he  done  to 
him,  and  I  ordered  him  to  be  brought 
before  me,  and  thus  has  he  spoken  ; 
his  heart  did  not  misgive  him,  nei- 
ther did  he  stir  in  my  presence,  and 
behold  now  he  is  confined  in  the 
prison. 

4.  And  therefore  decide  what  judg- 

*  I  have  here  continued  the  singular  pronoun 
in  order  to  keep  up  the  chain  of  the  narrative, 
though  the  Hebrew  has  the  transition  to  the 
plural,  as  including  Ninuod's  men. 


32 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


ment  is  due  to  tliis  man  who  reviled 
the  king  ;  who  spoke  and  did  all  the 
things  that  you  heard. 

5.  And  they  all  answered  the  king, 
saying,  the  man  who  revileth  the 
king  should  be  hanged  upon  a  tree  ; 
but  having  done  all  the  things  that 
he  said,  and  having  despised  our 
gods,  he  must  therefore  be  burned 
to  death,  for  this  is  the  law  in  this 
matter. 

6.  If  it  pleaseth  the  king  to  do 
this,  let  him  order  his  servants  to 
kindle  a  fire  both  night  and  day  in 
thy  brick  furnace,  and  then  we  will 
cast  this  man  into  it.  And  the  king 
did  so,  and  he  commanded  his  ser- 
vants that  they  should  prepare  a  fire 
for  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the 
king's  furnace,  that  is  in  Casdim  ; 
and  the  king  ordered  them  to  take 
Abram  from  prison  and  bring  him 
out  to  be  burned. 

7.  And  all  the  king's  servants, 
princes,  lords,  governors  and  judges, 
and  all  the  inhabhants  of  the  land, 
about  nine  hundred  thousand  men, 
stood  opposite  the  furnace  to  see 
Abram. 

8.  And  all  the  women  and  little 
ones  crowded  upon  the  roofs  and 
towers  to  see  lohat  ivas  doing  with 
Abram,  and  they  all  stood  together 
at  a  distance  ;  and  there  was  not  a 
man  left  that  did  not  come  on  that 
day  to  behold  the  scene. 

9.  And  when  Abram  was  come, 
the  conjurors  of  the  king  and  the 
sages  saw  Abram,  and  they  cried 
out  to  the  king,  saying,  our  sovereign 
lord,  surely  this  is  the  man  whom 
we  know  to  have  been  the  child  at 
whose  birth  the  great  star  swallowed 
the  four  stars,  wdiich  we  declared  to 
the  king  now  fifty  years  since. 

10.  And  behold  now  his  father  has 
also  transgressed  thy  command,  and 


mocked  thee  by  bringing  thee  ano-    , 
ther  child,  which  thou  didst  kill. 

1 1 .  And  when  the  king  heard  their 
words  he   was    exceedingly    wroth, 
and  he  ordered  Terah  to  be  brought    . 
before  him. 

12.  And  the  king  said,  hast  thou 
heard  what  the  conjurors  have  spo- 
ken ?  Now  tell  me  truly,  how  didst 
thou  ;  and  if  thou  shah  speak  truth 
thou  shalt  be  acquitted. 

13.  And  seeing  that  the  king's  an- 
ger was  so  much  kindled,  Terah 
said  to  the  king,  my  lord  and  king, 
thou  hast  heard  the  truth  and  what 
the  sages  have  spoken  is  right.  And 
the  king  said,  how  couldst  thou  do 
this  thing,  to  transgress  my  orders 
and  to  give  me  a  child  that  thou  didst 
not  beget,  and  to  take  value  for  him  ? 

14.  And  Terah  answered  the  king, 
because  my  tender  feelings  were  ex- 
cited for  my  son,  at  that  time,  and  I 
took  a  son  of  my  handmaid,  and  I 
brought  him  to  the  king. 

15.  And  the  king  said,  who  advi- 
sed thee  to  this  ?  Tell  me,  do  not 
hide  aught  from  me,  and  theii  thou 
shalt  not  die. 

16.  And  Terah  was  greatly  terri- 
fied in  the  king's  presence,  and  he 
said  to  the  king,  it  was  Haran  ?nt/ 
eldest  son  who  advised  me  to  this  ; 
and  Haran  was  in  those  days  that 
Abram  was  born,  two  and  thirty 
years  old. 

17.  But  Haran  did  not  advise  his 
father  to  anything,  for  Terah  said 
this  to  the  king  in  order  to  deliver 
his  soul  from  the  king,  for  he  feared 
greatly  ;  and  the  king  said  to  Terah, 
Haran  thy  son  who  advised  thee  to 
this  shall  die  through  fire  with  Abram ; 
for  the  sentence  of  death  is  upon  him 
for  having  rebelled  against  the  king's  ' 
desire  in  doing  this  thing. 

18.  And  Haran  at  that  time  felt 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


31 


jncJined  to  follow  the  ways  of  Abram, 
but  he  ke})t  it  within  himself. 

19.  And  Haraii  said  in  iiis  heart, 
behold  now  the  king  has  seized 
Abram  on  account  of  these  things 
which  Abram  did,  and  it  shall  come 
to  pass,  that  if  Abram  prevail  over 
the  king  I  will  follow  him,  but  if  the 
king  prevail  1  will  go  after  the  king. 

20.  And  when  Terah  had  spoken 
this  to  the  king  c(>!icerning  Haran  his 
son,  the  king  ordered  Haran  to  be 
seized  with  Abram. 

21.  And  they  brought  them  both, 
Abram  and  Haran  his  brother,  to 
cast  tiiem  into  the  fire  ;  and  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  land  and  the  king's 
servants  and  princes  and  all  the 
women  and  little  ones  were  there, 
standing  that  day  over  them. 

22.  And  the  king's  servants  took 
Abram  and  his  brother,  and  they 
stripped  them  of  all  their  clothes 
excepting  their  lower  garments  which 
were  upon  them. 

23.  And  they  bound  their  hands 
and  feet  with  linen  cords,  and  the 
servants  of  the  king  lifted  them  up 
and  cast  them  both  into  the  furnace.* 

24.  And  the  Lord  loved  Abram 
and  he  had  compassion  over  him, 
and  the  Lord  came  down  and  deliv- 
ered Abram  from  the  fire  and  he  was 
not  burned. 

25.  But  all  the  cords  with  which 
they  bound  him  were  burned,  while 
Abram  remained  and  walked  about 
in  the  fire. 

26.  And  Haran  died  when  they 
had  cast  him  into  the  fire,  and  he 
was  burned  to  ashes,  for  his  heart 
was  not  perfect  with  the  Lord  ;  and 
those  men  who  cast   him  into   the 

*  This  is  noticed  in  the  Talmud.  The  Rcc- 
habitos  have  this  tradition,  and  we  also  find  it 
recorded  in  the  Koran  that  Abram  was  thrown 
into  a  fiery  furnace  by  Ninirod. 


fire,  the  flame  of  the  fire  spread 
over  them,  and  they  were  burned  ; 
and  twelve  men  of  them  died. 

27.  And  Abram  walked  in  the 
midst  of  the  fire  three  days  and  three 
nights,  and  all  the  servants  of  tiie 
king  saw  him  walking  in  the  fire, 
and  they  came  and  told  the  king, 
saying,  behold  we  have  seen  Abram 
walking  about  in  the  midst  of  tiie 
fire,  and  even  the  lower  garments 
which  are  upon  him  are  not  burned, 
but  the  cord  with  which  he  was 
bound  is  burned. 

28.  And  when  the  king  heard 
their  words  his  heart  fainted  and  he 
would  not  believe  them  ;  so  he  sent 
other  faithful  princes  to  see  this  mat- 
ter, and  they  went  and  saw  it  and 
told  it  to  the  king ;  and  tlie  king 
rose  to  go  and  sec  it,  and  he  saw 
Abram  walking  to  and  fro  in  the 
midst  of  the  fire,  and  he  saw  Haran's 
body  burned,  and  the  king  wonder- 
ed greatly. 

29.  And  the  king  ordered  Abram 
to  be  taken  out  from  the  fire ;  and  his 
servants  approached  to  take  him  out 
and  they  could  not,  for  the  fire  was 
round  about  and  the  flame  ascend- 
ing toward  them  from  the  furnace. 

30.  And  the  king's  servants  fled 
from  it,  and  the  king  rebuked  them, 
saying,  make  haste  and  bring  Abram 
out  of  the  fire  that  you  shall  not  die. 

31.  And  the  servants  of  the  king 
again  approached  to  bring  Abram 
out,  and  the  flames  came  upon  them 
and  burned  their  faces  so  that  eight 
of  them  died. 

32.  And  when  the  king  saw  that 
his  servants  could  not  approach  the 
fire  lest  they  should  be  burned,  tiie 
king  called  to  Abram,  0  servant  of 
the  God  who  is  in  heaven,  go  forth 
from  amidst  the  fire  and  come  hith- 
er before  me  ;  and  Abram  hearkened 


34 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


to  the  voice  of  the  king,  and  he 
went  forth  from  the  fire  and  came 
and  stood  before  the  king. 

33.  And  when  Abram  came  out 
the  king  and  all  his  servants  saw 
Abram  coming  before  the  king,  with 
his  lower  garments  upon  him,  for 
they  were  not  burned,  but  the  cord 
with  which  he  was  bound  was 
burned. 

34.  And  the  king  said  to  Abram, 
how  is  it  that  thou  wast  not  burned 
in  the  fire  ? 

35.  And  Abram  said  to  the  king, 
the  God  of  heaven  and  earth  in 
whom  I  trust  and  who  has  all  in  his 
power,  he  delivered  me  from  the 
fire  into  which  thou  didst  cast  me. 

36.  xlnd  Haran  the  brother  of 
Abram  was  burned  to  ashes,  and 
they  sought  for  his  body  and  they 
found  it  consumed. 

37.  And  Haran  was  eighty-two 
years  old  when  he  died  in  the  fire  of 
"Casdim.  And  the  king,  princes  and 
inhabitants  of  the  land,  seeing  that 
Abram  was  delivered  from  the  fire, 
they  came  and  bowed  down  to 
Abram. 

38.  And  Abram  sakl  to  them,  do 
not  bow  down  to  me  but  bow  down 
to  the  God  of  the  world  who  made 
you,  and  serve  him  and  go  in  his 
ways  for  it  is  he  who  delivered  me 
from  out  of  this  fire,  and  it  is  he  who 
created  the  souls  and  spirits  of  all 
men,  and  formed  man  in  his  mother's 
womb,  and  brought  him  forth  into 
the  world,  and  it  is  he  who  will  de- 
liver tliose  who  trust  in  him  from 
all  pain. 

39.  And  this  thing  seemed  very 
wonderful  in  the  eyes  of  the  king 
and  princes,  that  Abram  was  saved 
from  the  fire  and  that  Haran  was 
burned;  and  the  king  gave  Abram 
many  presents  and  he  gave  him  his 


two  head  servants  from  the  king's 
house ;  the  name  of  one  was  Oni 
and  the  name  of  the  other  was 
Eliezer. 

40.  And  all  the  kings,  princes 
and  servants  gave  Abram  many  gifts 
of  silver  and  gold  and  pearl,  and  the 
king  and  his  princes  sent  him  away, 
and  he  went  in  peace. 

41.  And  Abram  went  forth  from 
the  king  in  peace,  and  many  of  the 
king's  servants  followed  him,  and 
about  three  hundred  men  jomed  himv 

42.  And  Abram  returned  on  that 
day  and  went  to  his  fathers  house, 
he  and  the  men  that  followed  him, 
and  Abram  served  the  Lord  his  God 
all  the  days  of  his  life,  and  he  walked 
in  his  ways  ar\dfoUoived  his  law. 

43.  And  from  that  day  forward 
Abram  inclined  the  hearts  of  the 
sons  of  men  to  serve  the  Lord. 

44.  And  at  that  time  Nahor  and 
Abram  took  unto  themselves  wives, 
the  daughters  of  their  brother  Ha- 
ran ;  the  wife  of  Nahor  ivas  Milca 
and  the  name  of  Abram's  wife  was 
8arai.  And  Sarai  wife  of  Abram 
was  barren ;  she  had  no  offspring  in 
those  days. 

45.  And  at  the  expiration  of  two 
years  from  Abram's  going  out  of  the 

j  fire,  that  is  in  the  fifty  second  year 
!  of  his  life,  behold  king  Nimrod  sat 

in  Babel  upon  the  throne,  and  the 
I  king  fell  asleep  and  dreamed  that  he 
jwas  standing   with  his   troops    and 

hosts  in  a  valley  opposite  the  king's 
I  furnace. 
I      46.  And  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  and 

saw  a  man  in  the  likeness  of  Abram 
1  coming  forth  from  the  funiace,  and 
I  that  he  came  and  stood  before  the 
I  king  with  his  drawn  sword,  and  then 
I  sprang  to  the  king  with  his  sword, 
!when"^the  king  fled  from  the  man, 
I  for  he   was   afraid ;  and    while   he 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


36 


Was  running,  the  man  threw  an  egg 
upon  the  king's  head,  and  the  egg 
became  a  great  river. 

47.  And  tiie  king  dreamed  that  all 
his  troops  sank  in  that  river  and 
died,  and  the  king  took  flight  with 
three  men  who  were  before  huu  and 
he  escaped. 

48.  And  the  king  looked  at  these 
men  and  tiiev  were  clothed  in  prince- 
ly dresses  as  the  garments  of  kings, 
and  had  the  appearance  and  majesty 
of  kings. 

49.  And  while  they  were  running, 
the  river  again  turned  to  an  egg  be- 
fore the  king,  and  there  came  forth 
from  the  egg  a  young  bird  which 
came  before  the  king,  and  flew  at 
his  head  and  plucked  out  the  king's 
eye. 

50.  And  the  king  was  grieved  at 
the  sight,  and  he  awoke  out  of  his 
sleep  and  his  spirit  was  agitated, 
and  he  felt  a  great  terror. 

51.  And  in  the  morning  the  king 
rose  from  his  couch  in  fear,  and  he 
ordered  all  the  wise  men  and  magi- 
cians to  come  before  him,  when  the 
king  related  his  dream  to  them. 

52.  And  a  wise  servant  of  the 
king,  whose  name  was  Anuki,  an- 
swered the  king,  saying,  this  is  noth- 
ing else  but  the  evil  of  Abram  and 
his  seed  which  will  spring  up  against 
my  lord  and  king  in  the  latter  days. 

53.  And  behold  the  day  will  come 
when  Abram  and  his  seed  and  the 
children  of  his  household  will  war 
with  my  king,  and  they  will  smite  all 
the  king's  hosts  and  his  troops. 

54.  And  as  to  what  thou  hast  said 
concerning  three  men  which  thou 
didst  see  like  unto  thyself,  and 
which  did  escape,  this  means  that 
only  thou  wilt  escape  with  three 
kings  from  the  kings  of  the  earth 
who  will  be  with  thee  in  battle. 


55.  And  that '  which  thou  sawest 
of  the  river  which  turned  to  an  egg 
as  at  first,  and  the  young  bird  pluck- 
ing out  thine  eye,  this  means  nothing 
else  but  the  seed  of  Abram  which 
will  slay  the  king  in  latter  days, 

56.  This  is  my  king's  dream,  and 
this  is  its  interpretation,  and  the 
dream  is  true,  and  the  interpretation 
which  thy  servant  ha»  given  thee  is 
right. 

57.  Now  therefore  my  king,  surely 
thou  knowest  that  it  is  now  fifty-two 
years  since  thy  sages  saw  this  at 
the  birth  of  Abram,  and  if  my  king 
will  suffer  Abram  to  live  in  the  earth 
it  will  be  to  the  injury  of  my  lord  and 
king,  for  all  the  days  that  Abram 
liveth  neither  thou  nor  thy  kingdom 
will  be  established,  for  this  was 
known  formerly  at  his  birth ;  and 
why  will  not  my  king  slay  him,  that 
his  evil  may  be  kept  from  thee  in 
latter  days  f 

58.  And  Nimrod  hearkened  to  the 
voice  of  Anuki,  and  he  sent  some  of 
his  servants  in  secret  to  go  and  seize 
Abram,  and  bring  him  before  the 
king  to  suffer  death. 

59.  And  Eliezcr,  Abram's  servant 
whom  the  king  had  given  him,  was 
at  that  time  in  the  presence  of  the 
king,  and  he  heard  what  Anuki  had 
advised  the  king,  and  what  the  king 
had  said  to  cause  Abram's  death. 

60.  And  Eliezer  said  to  Abram, 
hasten,  rise  up  and  save  thy  soul, 
that  thou  mayest  not  die  through  the 
hands  of  the  king,  for  thus  did  he 
see  in  a  dream  concerning  thee,  and 
thus  did  Anuki  interpret  it,  and  thus 
also  did  Anuki  advise  the  king  con- 
cerning thee. 

61.  And  Abram  hearkened  to  the 
voice  of  Eliezer.  and  Abram  has- 
tened and  ran  for  safety  to  the  house 
of  Noah  and  his  son,  ijhem,   and  he 


36 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


concealed  himself  tliere  and  found  a 
place  of  safety  ;  and  the  king's  ser- 
vants came  to  Abram's  house  to  seek 
him,  but  they  could  not  find  him, 
and  they  searched  throughout  the 
country  and  he  was  not  to  be  found, 
and  they  went  and  searched  in  every 
direction  and  he  was  not  to  he  met 
with. 

62.  And  when  the  king's  servants 
could  not  find  Abram  they  returned 
to  the  king,  but  the  king's  anger 
against  Abram  was  stilled,  as  they 
did  not  find  him,  and  tlie  king  drove 
from  liis  mind  this  matter  concern- 
ing Abram. 

63.  And  Abram  was  concealed  in 
Noah's  house  for  one  month  until 
the  king  had  forgotten  this  matter, 
but  Abram  was  still  afraid  of  the 
king  ;  and  Terali  came  to  see  Abram 
liis  son  secretly  in  the  house  of  Noah, 
and  Terah  was  very  great  in  the 
eyes  of  the  king. 

64.  And  Abram  said  to  his  father, 
dost  thou  not  know  that  the  king 
thinketh  to  slay  me,  and  to  annihi- 
late my  name  from  the  earth  by  the 
advice  of  his  wicked  counsellors  ? 

65.  Now  whom  hast  thou  here 
and  what  hast  thou  in  this  land  ? 
Arise,  let  us  go  together  to  the  land 
of  Canaan,  that  we  maybe  delivered 
from  his  hand,  lest  thou  perish  also 
through  him  in  the  latter  days. 

66.  Dost  thou  not  know  or  hast 
thou  not  heard,  that  it  is  not  through 
love  that  Nimrod  giveth  thee  all  this 
honour,  but  it  is  oidy  for  his  benefit 
that  he  bcstoweth  all  this  good  upon 
thee? 

67.  And  if  he  do  unto  thee  greater 
good  than  this,  surely  these  are  only 
vanities  of  the  world,  for  wealth  and 
riches  cannot  avail  in  the  day  of  wrath 
and  anger. 

68.  Now  therefore  hearken  to  my 


voice,  and  let  us  arise  and  go  to  the 
land  of  Canaan,  out  of  tlie  reach  of 
injury  from  Nimrod  ;  and  serve  thou 
the  Lord  who  created  thee  in  the 
earth  and  it  will  be  well  with  thee  ; 
and  cast  away  all  the  vain  things 
which  thou  pursuest. 

69.  And  Abram  ceased  to  speak, 
when  Noah  and  his  son  Shem  an- 
swered Terah,  saying,  true  is- the 
word  which  Abram  hath  said  unto 
thee. 

70.  And  Terah  hearkened  to  the 
voice  of  his  son  Abram,  and  Terah 
did  all  that  Abram  said,  for  this  was 
from  the  Lord,  that  the  king  should 
not  cause  Abram's  death, 

CHAPTER  XIIL 

1 .  And  Terah  took  his  son  Abram 
and  his  grandson  Lot,  the  son  of 
Haran,  and  Sarai  his  daughter-in-law, 
the  wife  of  his  son  Abram,  and  all 
the  souls  of  his  household  and  went 
with  them  from  Ur  Casdim  to  go  to 
the  land  of  Canaan.  And  when  they 
came  as  far  as  the  land  of  Haran 
they  remained  there,  for  it  was  ex- 
ceeding good  land  for  pasture,  and 
of  sufficient  extent  for  those  who  ac- 
companied them. 

2.  And  the  people  of  the  land  of 
Haran  saw  that  Abram  was  good 
and  upright  with  God  and  men,  and 
that  the  Lord  his  God  was  with  him, 
and  some  of  the  people  of  the  land 
of  Haran  came  and  joined  Abram, 
and  he  taught  them  the  instruction 
of  the  Lord  and  his  ways ;  and  these 
men  remained  with  Abram  in  his 
house  and  they  adhered  to  him. 

3.  And  Abram  remained  in  the 
land  three  years,  and  at  the  expira- 
tion of  three  years  the  Lord  appeared 
to  Abram  and  said  to  him ;  I  am  the 
Lord  who  brought  thee  forth  from 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


3t 


Ur  Casdim,  and  delivered  tliee  from 
the  hands  of  all  thine  enemies. 

4.  And  now  therefore  if  thou  wilt 
hearken  to  my  voice  and  keep  my 
commandments,  my  statutes  and  my 
laws,  tliea  will  I  cause  thy  enemies 
to  fall  before  thee,  and  I  will  multi- 
ply thy  seed  like  the  stars  of  heaven, 
and  I  will  send  -my  blessing  upon  all 
the  works  of  thy  hands,  and  thou 
shalt  lack  nothing. 

5.  Arise  now,  take  thy  wife  and 
all  belonging  to  thee  and  go  to  the 
land  of  Canaan  and  remain  there, 
and  I  will  there  be  unto  thee  for  a 
God,  and  I  will  bless  thee.  And 
Abram  rose  and  took  his  wife  and  all 
belonging  to  him,  and  he  went  to  the 
land  of  Canaan  as  the  Lord  had  told 
him  ;  and  Abram  was  fifty  years  old 
when  he  went  from  Haran. 

6.  And  Abram  came  to  the  land 
of  Canaan  and  dwelt  in  the  midst  of 
the  city,  and  he  there  pitched  his  tent 
amongst  the  children  of  Canaan,  in- 
habitants of  the  land. 

7.  And  the  Lord  appeared  to  Ab- 
ram when  he  came  to  the  land  of 
Canaan,  and  said  to  him,  this  is  the 
land  which  I  gave  unto  thee  and  to 
thy  seed  after  thee  forever,  and  I  will 
make  tliy  seed  like  the  stars  of  hea- 
ven, and  I  will  give  unto  thy  seed  for 
an  inheritance  all  the  lands  which 
thou  seest. 

8.  And  Abram  built  an  altar  in  the 
place  where  God  had  spoken  to  him, 
and  Abram  there  called  upon  the 
name  of  the  Lord. 

9.  At  that  time,  at  the  end  of  three 
years  of  Abram's  dwelling  in  the 
land  of  Canaan,  in  that  year  Noah 
died,  which  was  the  fifty-eighth  year 
of  the  life  of  Abram  ;  and  all  the 
days  that  Noah  lived  were  nine  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  and  he  died. 

10.  And  Abram  dwelt  in  the  land 


of  Canaan,  he,  his  wife,  and  all  be- 
longing to  him,  and  all  those  that  ac- 
companied him,  together  with  those 
that  joined  him  from  the  people  of  the 
land  ;  but  Nabor,  Abram's  brother, 
and  Tcrah  his  father,  and  liOt  the 
son  of  Haran  and  all  belonging  to 
them  dwelt  in  Haran. 

11.  In  the  fifth  year  of  Abram's 
dwelling  in  the  land  of  Canaan  the 
people  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  and 
all  the  cities  of  the  plain  revolted 
from  the  power  of  Chedor]aomer,king 
of  Elam  ;  for  all  ihe  kings  of  the 
cities  of  the  plain  had  served  Che- 
dorlaomer  for  twelve  years,  and  given 
him  a  yearly  tax,  but  in  those  days 
in  the  thirteenth  year,  they  rebelled 
against  him. 

12.  And  in  the  tenth  year  of 
Abram's  dwelling  in  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan there  was  war  between  Nimrod 
king  of  iShinarand  Chedorlaomerking 
of  Elam,  and  Nimrod  came  to  fight 
with  Chcdorlaomero/jt/tosubdue  him. 

13.  For  Chedorlaomer  was  at  that 
time  one  of  the  princes  of  the  hosts 
of  Nimrod,  and  when  all  the  people 
at  the  tower  were  dispersed  and 
those  that  remained  were  also  scat- 
tered upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  Che- 
dorlaomer went  to  the  land  of  Elam 
and  reigned  over  it  and  rebelled 
against  his  Lord. 

14.  And  in  those  days  when  Nim- 
rod saw  that  the  cities  of  the  plain 
had  rebelled,  he  came  with  pride  and 
anger  to  war  with  Chedorlaomer,  and 
Nimrod  assembled  all  his  princes 
and  subjects,  about  seven  hundred 
thousand  men,  and  went  against  Che- 
dorlaomer, and  Chedorlaomer  went 
out  to  meet  him  with  five  thousand 
men,  and  they  ])repared  for  battle  in 
the  valley  of  Babel  which  is  between 
Elam  and  Shinar. 

15.  And   all    those    kings    fought 


88 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASlIER, 


there,  and  Nimrod  and  his  people 
were  smitten  before  the  people  of 
Chedorlaomer,  and  there  fell  from 
Nimrod's  men  about  six  hundred 
thousand,  and  Mardon  the  king's  son 
fell  amongst  them. 

16.  And  Nimrod  fled  and  return- 
ed in  shame  and  disgrace  to  his  land, 
and  he  was  under  subjection  to  Che- 
dorlaomer for  a  long  time,  and  Che- 
dorlaomer returned  to  his  land  and 
sent  princes  of  his  host  to  the  kings 
that  dwelt  around  him,  to  Arioch 
king  of  Elasar,  and  to  Tidal  king  of 
Goyim,  and  made  a  covenant  with 
them,  and  they  were  all  obedient  to 
his  commands. 

17.  And  it  was  in  the  fifteenth 
year  of  Abram's  dwelling  in  the  land 
of  Canaan,  ivhich  is  the  seventieth 
year  of  the  life  of  Abram,  and  the 
Lord  appeared  to  Abram  in  that 
year  and  he  said  to  him,  I  am  the 
Lord  who  brought  thee  out  from  Ur 
Casdim  to  give  thee  this  land  for  an 
inheritance. 

18.  Now  therefore  walk  before 
me  and  be  perfect  and  keep  my  com- 
mands, for  to  thee  and  to  thy  seed  I 
will  give  this  land  for  an  inheritance, 
from  the  river  Mitzraim  unto  the 
great  river  Euphrates. 

19.  And  thou  shalt  come  to  thy 
fathers  in  peace  and  in  good  age,  and 
the  fourth  generation  shall  return 
liere  in  this  land  and  shall  inherit  it 
forever  ;  and  Abram  built  an  altar, 
and  he  called  upon  the  name  of  the 
Lord  who  appeared  to  him,  and  he 
brought  up  sacrifices  upon  the  altar 
to  the  Lord. 

20.  At  that  time  Abram  returned 
and  went  to  Haran  to  see  his  father 
and  mother,  and  his  father's  house- 
hold, and  Abram  and  his  wife  and  all 
belonging  to  him  returned  to  Haran, 
and  Abram  dwelt  in  Haran  five  years. 


21.  And  many  of  the  people  of 
Haran,  about  seventy  two  men,  fol- 
lowed Abram  and  Abram  taught  them 
the  instruction  of  the  Lord  and  his 
ways,  and  he  taught  them  to  know 
the  Lord. 

22.  In  those  days  the  Lord  ap- 
peared to  Abram  in  Haran,  and  he 
said  to  him,  behold,  I  spoke  unto 
thee  these  twenty  years  back  saying, 

23.  Go  forth  from  thy  land,  from 
thy  birth-place  and  from  thy  father's 
house,  to  the  land  which  I  have 
shown  thee  to  give  it  to  thee  and  to 
thy  children,  for  there  in  that  land 
will  I  bless  thee,  and  make  thee  a 
great  nation,  and  make  thy  name 
great,  and  in  thee  shall  the  families 
of  the  earth  be  blessed. 

24.  Now  therefore  arise,  go  forth 
from  this  place,  thou,  thy  wife,  and 
all  belonging  to  thee,  also  every  one 
born  in  thy  house  and  all  the  souls 
thou  hast  made  in  Haran,  and  bring 
them  out  with  thee  from  here,  and 
rise  to  return  to  the  land  of  Canaan, 

25.  And  Abram  arose  and  took  his 
wife  Sarai  and  all  belonging  to  him, 
and  all  that  were  born  to  him  in  his 
house  and  the  souls  which  the}^  had 
made  in  Haran,  and  they  came  out  to 
go  to  the  land  of  Canaan. 

26.  And  Abram  went  and  return- 
ed to  the  land  of  Canaan,  according 
to  the  word  of  the  Lord.  And  Lot 
the  son  of  his  brother  Haran  went 
with  him,  and  Abram  was  seventy 
five  years  old  when  he  went  forth 
from  flaran  to  return  to  the  land  of 
Canaan. 

27.  And  he  came  to  the  land  of 
Canaan  according  to  the  word  of  the 
Lord  to  Abram,  and  he  pitched  his 
tent  and  he  dwelt  in  the  plain  of 
Mamre,  and  w^ith  him  was  Lot  his 
brother's  son,  and  all  belonging  to 
him. 


THE  BOOK  OF  J  AS  HER. 


'J9 


28,  And  the  Lord  again  appeared 
to  Abrani  and  said,  to  ihy  seed  will 
I  give  this  land  ;  and  he  there  built 
an  altar  to  the  Lord  who  appeared 
to  him,  which  is  still  to  this  day  in 
the  plains  of  Maaue. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

1.  In  those  days  there  was  in  the 
land  of  Shinar  a  wise  man  who  had 
understanding  in  all  wisdom,  and  of 
a  beautiful  appearance,  but  he  was 
poor  and  indigent  ;  his  name  was 
Rikayon  and  he  was  hard  set  to  sup- 
port himself. 

2.  And  he  resolved  to  go  to  Egypt, 
to  Oswiris  the  son  of  Anom  king  of 
Egypt,  to  show  the  king  his  wisdom; 
for  perhaps  he  might  find  grace  in 
his  sight,  to  raise  him  up  and  give 
him  maintenance ;  and  Rikayon  did 
so. 

3.  And  when  Rikayon  came  to 
Egypt  he  asked  the  inhabitants  of 
Egypt  concerning  the  king,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  Egypt  told  him  the 
-custom  of  the  king  of  Egypt,  for  it 
was  then  the  custom  of  the  king  of 
Egypt  that  he  went  from  his  royal 
palace  and  was  seen  abroad  only  one 
day  i?i  the  year,  and  after  that  the 
king  would  return  to  his  palace  to 
remain  there. 

4.  And  on  the  day  when  the  king 
went  forth  he  passed  judgment  in  the 
land,  and  every  one  having  a  suit 
came  before  the  king  that  day  to  ob- 
tain his  request. 

5.  And  when  Rikayon  heard  of 
the  custom  in  Egypt  and  that  he 
could  not  come  into  the  presence  of 
the  king,  he  grievgd  greatly  and  was 
very  sorrowful. 

6.  And  in  the  evening  Rikayon 
went  out  and  found  a  house  in  ruins, 
formerly  a  bake  house  in   Egypt, 


and  he  abided  there  all  night  in  bit- 
terness of  soul  and  pinched  with 
hunger,  and  sleep  was  removed  from 
his  eyes. 

7.  And  Rikayon  considered  with- 
in himself  what  he  should  do  in  the 
town  until  the  king  made  his  appear- 
ance, and  how  he  might  maintain 
himself  there. 

8.  And  he  rose  in  the  morning 
and  walked  about,  and  met  in  his  way 
those  who  sold  vegetables  and  va- 
rious sorts  of  seed  with  which  they 
supplied  the  inhabitants. 

9.  And  Rikayon  wished  to  do  the 
same  in  order  to  get  a  maintenance 
in  the  city,  but  he  was  unacquainted 
with  the  custom  of  the  people,  and 
he  was  like  a  blind  man  among  them. 

10.  And  he  went  and  obtained 
vegetables  to  sell  them  for  his  sup- 
port, and  the  rabble  assembled  about 
liim  and  ridiculed  him,  and  took  his 
vegetables  from  him  and  left  him 
nothing. 

11.  i^nd  he  rose  up  from  there  in 
bitterness  of  soul,  and  went  sighing 
to  the  bake  house  in  which  he  had 
remained  all  the  night  before,  and 
he  slept  there  the  second  night. 

12.  And  on  that  night  again  he 
reasoned  within  himself  how  lie  could 
save  himself  from  starvation,  and  he 
devised  a  scheme  how  to  act. 

13.  And  he  rose  up  in  the  morn- 
ing and  acted  ingeniously,  and  went 
and  hired  thirty  strong  men  of  the 
rabble,  carrying  their  war  instru- 
ments in  their  hands,  and  he  led 
them  to  the  top  of  the  Egyptian  se- 
pulchre, and  he  placed  them  there, 

14.  And  he  commanded  them, 
saying,  thus  saith  the  king,  strength-;- 
en  Yourselves  and  be  valiant  men, 
and  let  no  man  be  buried  here  until 
two  hundred  pieces  of  silver  be 
given,  and  then   he  may  be  buried  ; 


40 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


and  those  men  did  according  to  the 
order  of  Rikayon  to  the  people  of 
Egypt  the  whole  of  that  year, 

15.  And  in  eight  months  time  Ri- 
kayon and  his  men  gathered  great 
riches  of  silver  and  gold,  and  Rikay- 
on took  a  great  quantity  of  horses 
and  other  animals,  and  he  hired  more 
men,  and  he  gave  them  horses  and 
they  temained  with  him. 

16.  And  when  the  year  came 
round,  at  the  time  the  king  went 
forth  into  the  town,  all  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Egypt  assembled  together 
to  speak  to  him  concerning  the  work 
of  Rikayon  and  his  men. 

17.  And  the  king  went  forth  on 
the  appointed  day,  and  all  the  Egyp- 
tians came  before  him  and  cried  un- 
to him,  saying, 

18.  May  the  king  live  forever. 
What  is  this  thing  thou  doest  m  the 
town  to  thy  servants,  not  to  sutfer  a 
dead  body  to  be  buried  until  so  much 
silver  and  gold  be  given  ?  Was 
there  eve?'  the  like  unto  this  done  in 
the  whole  earth,  from  the  days  of 
former  kings  t/ea  even  from  the  days 
of  Adam,  unto  this  day,  that  the 
dead  should  not  be  buried  onl}^  for  a 
set  price  ? 

19  We  know  it  to  be  the  custom 
of  kings  to  take  a  yearly  tax  from 
the  living,  but  thou  dost  not  only  do 
this,  but  from  the  dead  also  thou  ex- 
actest  a  tax  day  by  day. 

20.  Now,  0  king,  we  can  no  more 
bear  this,  for  the  whole  city  is  ruin- 
ed on  this  account,  and  dost  thou  not 
know  it  ? 

21.  And  when  the  king  heard  all 
that  they  had  spoken  he  was  very 
wroth,  and  his  anger  burned  within 
him  at  this  affair,  for  he  had  known 
nothing  of  it. 

22.  And  the  king  said,  who  and 
where  is  he   that  dares  to  do  this 


wicked  thing  in  my  land  without 
my  command  ?  Surely  you  will  tell 
me. 

23.  And  they  told  him  all  the 
works  of  Rikayon  and  his  men,  and 
the  king's  anger  was  aroused,  and 
he  ordered  Rikayon  and  his  men  to 
be  brought  before  liim. 

24.  And  Rikayon  took  about  a 
thousand  children,  sons  and  daugh- 
ters, and  clothed  them  in  silk  and 
embroidery,  and  he  set  them  upon 
horses  and  sent  them  to  the  king  by 
means  of  his  men,  and  he  also  ^ook 
a  great  quantity  of  silver  and  gold 
and  precious  stones,  and  a  strong 
and  beautiful  horse,  as  a  present  for 
the  king,  with  which  he  came  before 
the  king  and  bowed  down  to  the 
earth  before  him  ;  and  the  king,  his 
servants  and  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Egypt  wondered  at  the  work  of  Ri- 
kayon, and  they  saw  his  riches  and 
the  present  that  he  had  brought  to  the 
king. 

25.  And  it  greatly  pleased  the 
king  and  he  wondered  at  it ;  and 
when  Rikayon  sat  before  him  the 
king  asked  him  concerning  all  his 
works,  and  Rikayon  spoke  all  his 
words  wisely  before  the  king,  his 
servants  and  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Egypt. 

20.  And  when  the  king  heard  the 
words  of  Rikayon  and  his  wisdom, 
Rikayon  found  grace  in  his  sight, 
and  he  met  with  grace  and  kindness 
from  all  the  servants  of  the  king  and 
from  all  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt,  on 
account  of  his  wisdom  and  excellent 
speeches,  and  from  that  time  they 
loved  him  exceedingly. 

16.  And  the  king  answe>red  and 
said  to  Rikayon,  thy  name  shall  no 
more  be  called  Rikayon  but  Pha- 
raoh* shall  be  thy  name,  since  thou 

*  Pharaoh  from  pic,  to  get  paid,  to  exact. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


41 


didst  exact  a  l-ix  from  the  dead  ;  and 
he  called  his  name  Pharaoh, 

28.  And  the  king  and  his  subjects 
loved  Kikayon  for  his  wisdom,  and 
they  consulted  with  all  the  inhabi- 
lants  of  Egypt  to  make  him  prefect 
under  the  king. 

29.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Egypt  and  its  wise  men  did  so,  and 
it  was  made  a  law  in  Egypt. 

30.  And  they  made  Rikayon  Pha- 
raoh, prefect  \u)der  Oswiris  king  of 
Egypt,  and  Rikayon  Pharaoh  gov- 
erned over  Egypt,  daily  administer- 
ing justice  to  the  whole  city,  but  Os- 
wiris the  king  would  judge  {\\c  people 
of  the  land  one  day  in  the  year,  when 
lie  went  out  t?)  make  his  appear- 
ance. 

31.  And  Rikayon  Pharaoh  cun- 
ningly usurped  the  government  of 
Egypt,  and  he  exacted  a  tax  from  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Egypt. 

32.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Egypt  greatly  loved  Rikayon  Pha- 
raoh, and  they  made  a  decree  to  call 
every  king  that  should  reign  over 
them  and  their  seed  in  Egypt,  Pha- 
raoh. 

33.  Therefore  all  the  kings  that 
reigned  in  Egypt  from  that  time  for- 
ward were  called  Pharaoh  unto  this 
day. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

1.  And  in  that  year  there  was  a 
lieavy  famine  throughout  the  land  of 
Canaan,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land  could  not  remain  on  account  of 
the  famine  for  it  was  very  grievous. 

2.  And  Abram  and  all  belonging 
to  him  rose  and  went  down  to  Egypt 
on  accoimt  of  the  famine,  and  when 
they  were  at  the  brook  Mitzraim 
they  remained  there  some  time  to 
rest  from  the  fatigue  of  the  road. 


3.  And  Abram  and  Sarai  were 
walking  at  the  border  of  the  brook 
Mitzraim,  and  Abram  beheld  his  wife 
8arai  that  she  was  very  beautiful. 

4.  And  Abram  said  to  his  wife 
Sarai,  since  God  has  created  thee 
with  such  a  beautiful  countenance, 
I  am  afraid  of  the  Egyptians  lest 
they  should  slay  me  and  take  thee 
away,  for  the  fear  of  God  is  not  in 
these  places. 

5  iSurely  then  thou  shalt  do  this, 
say  thou  art  my  si.stcr  to  all  that  may 
ask  thee,  in  order  that  it  may  be  well 
with  me,  and  that  we  may  live  and 
not  be  put  to  death. 

6.  And  Abram  commanded  the 
same  to  all  those  that  came  with  iiim 
to  Egypt  on  account  of  the  famine  ; 
also  his  nephew  Lot  he  commanded, 
saying,  if  the  Egyptians  ask  thee 
concerning  tSarai  say  she  is  the  sister 
of  Abram. 

7.  And  yet  with  all  these  orders 
Abram  did  not  put  confidence  in  them, 
but  he  took  Sarai  and  placed  her  in 
a  chest  and  concealed  it  amongst 
their  vessels,  for  Abram  was  greatly 
concerned  about  Sarai  on  account  of 
the  wickedness  of  the  Egyptians. 

8.  And  Abram  and  all  belonging 
to  him  rose  up  from  the  brook  Mitz- 
raim and  came  to  Egypt ;  and  they 
had  scarcely  entered  the  gates  of  the 
city  when  the  guards  stood  up  to 
them,  saying,  give  tythe  to  the  king 
from  what  you  have,  and  then  3'^ou 
may  come  into  the  town  ;  and  Abram 
and  those  that  were  with  him  did  so. 

9.  And  Abram  with  the  people 
that  were  with  him  came  to  Egypt, 
and  when  they  came  they  brought 
the  chest  in  which  Sarai  was  con- 
cealed, and  the  Egyptians  saw  the 
chest. 

10.  And  the  king's  servants  ap- 
proached Abram,  saying,  what  hast 


42 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


thou  here  in  this  chest  which  we 
have  not  seen  ?  Now  open  thou  the 
chest  and  give  tythe  to  the  king  of 
all  that  it  contains. 

1 1 .  And  Abram  said,  this  chest  I 
will  not  open,  but  all  you  demand 
upon  it  I  will  give.  And  Pharaoh's 
officers  answered  Abram,  saying,  it 
is  a  chest  of  precious  stones,  give  us 
the  tenth  thereof. 

1 2.  Abram  said,  all  that  you  desire 
I  will  give,  but  you  must  not  open 
the  chest. 

13.  And  the  king's  officers  pressed 
Abram,  and  they  reached  the  chest 
and  opened  it  with  force,  and  they 
saw,  and  behold  a  beautiful  woman 
was  in  the  chest. 

14.  And  when  the  officers  of  the 
king  beheld  Sarai  they  were  struck 
with  admiration  at  her  beauty,  and 
all  the  princes  and  servants  of  Pha- 
raoh assembled  to  see  Sarai,  for  she 
was  very  beautiful.  And  the  king's 
officers  ran  and  told  Pharaoh  all  that 
they  had  seen,  and  they  praised  Sarai 
to  the  king ;  and  Pharaoh  ordered 
her  to  be  brought,  and  the  woman 
came  before  the  king. 

15.  And  Pharaoh  beheld  Sarai  and 
she  pleased  him  exceedingly,  and  he 
was  struck  with  her  beauty,  and  the 
king  rejoiced  greatly  on  her  account, 
and  made  presents  to  those  who 
brought  him  the  tidings  concerning 
her. 

16.  And  the  woman  was  then 
brought  to  Pharaoh's  house,  and 
Abram  grieved  on  account  of  his 
wife,  and  he  prayed  to  the  Lord  to  de- 
liver her  from  the  hands  of  Pha- 
raoh. 

17.  And  Sarai  also  prayed  at  that 
time  and  said,  O  Lord  God  thou  didst 
tell  my  Lord  Abram  to  go  from  his 
land  and  from  his  father's  house  to 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  thou  didst 


promise  to  do  well  with  him  if  he 
would  perform  thy  commands  ;  now 
behold  we  have  done  that  which  thou 
didst  command  us,  and  we  left  our 
land  and  our  families,  and  we  went 
to  a  strange  land  and  to  a  people 
whom  we  have  not  known  before. 

18.  And  we  came  to  this  land  ta 
avoid  the  famine,  and  this  evil  acci- 
dent has  befallen  me  ;  now  therefore 
O  Lord  God  deliver  us  and  save  us 
from  the  hand  of  this  oppressor,  and 
do  well  with  me  for  the  sake  of  thy 
mercy. 

19.  And  the  Lord  hearkened  to 
the  voice  of  Sarai,  and  the  Lord  sent 
an  angel  to  deliver  Sarai  from  the 
power  of  Pharaoh. 

20.  And  the  king  came  and  sat 
before  Sarai,  and  behold  an  angel  of 
the  Lord  was  standing  over  them, 
and  he  appeared  to  Sarai  and  said  lo 
her,  do  not  fear  for  the  Lord  has 
heard  thy  prayer. 

21.  And  the  king  approached  Sa- 
rai and  said  to  her,  what  is  that  man 
to  thee  who  brought  thee  hither?  and 
she  said,  he  is  my  brother. 

22.  And  the  king  said,  it  is  incmn- 
bent  upon  us  to  make  him  great,  to 
elevate  him  and  to  do  unto  him  all 
the  good  which  thou  shalt  command 
us  ;  and  at  that  time  the  king  sent  to 
Abram  silver  and  gold  and  precious 
stones  in  abundance,  together  with 
cattle,  men  servants  and  maid  ser- 
vants ;  and  the  king  ordered  Abram 
to  be  brought,  and  he  sat  in  the  court 
of  the  king's  house,  and  the  king 
greatly  exalted  Abram  on  that  night, 

23.  And  the  king  approached  tO' 
speak  to  Sarai,  and  he  reached  out 
his  hand  to  touch  her,  when  the  an- 
gel smote  him  heavily,  and  he  was 
terrified  and  he  refrained  from  reach- 
ing to  her. 

24.  And  when  the  king  came  near 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


43 


to  Sarai,  the  angel  smote  him  to  the 
ground,  and  acted  thus  to  him  the 
■whole  night,  and  the  king  was  ter- 
rified. 

25.  And  the  angel  on  that  night 
smote  heavily  all  the  servants  of  the 
king,  and  his  whole  household,  on 
account  of  Sarai,  and  there  was  a 
great  lamentation  that  night  amongst 
the  people  of  Pharaoh's  house. 

26.  And  Pharaoh,  seeing  the  evil 
that  befel  him,  said,  surely  on  account 
•of  this  woman  has  this  thing  happen- 
ed to  me,  and  he  removed  liimself  at 
^ome  distance  from  her  and  spoke 
pleasing  words*  to  her. 

27.  And  the  king  said  to  Sarai, 
tell  me  I  pray  thee  concerning  the 
man  with  whom  thou  camest  here  ; 
and  Sarai  said  this  man  is  my  hus- 
band, and  I  said  to  thee  that  he  was 
my  brother  for  I  was  afraid,  lest  thou 
shouldst  put  him  to  death  through 
wickedness. 

28.  And  the  king  kept  away  from 
Sarai,  and  the  plagues  of  the  angel 
of  the' Lord  ceased  from  him  and  his 
liousehold  ;  and  Pharaoh  knew  that 
he  was  smitten  on  account  of  Sarai, 
and  the  king  was  greatly  astonished 
at  tills. 

29.  And  in  the  mornincr  the  kinfj 
called  for  Abram  and  said  to  1dm, 
what  is  this  thou  hast  done  to  me  ? 
Why  didst  thou  say,  she  is  my  sister, 
■oioing  to  which  I  took  her  unto  me 
for  a  wife,  and  this  heavy  plague  has 
therefore  come  upon  me  and  my 
household. 

30.  Now  therefore  here  is  thy  wife, 
take  her  and  go  from  our  land  lest 
we  all  die  on  her  account.    And  Pha- 

*  Hebrew,  spoke  good  words  to  her  heart, 
meaningr  that  he  endeavored  to  gain  her  heart 
or  confidence,  by  good  words  and  modest  con- 
duct, to  toll  him  what  Abrain  was  really  akin 
to  hor,  wherebv  he  might  discover  the  cause  of 
the  angel  smiling  him  and  his  people. 


raoh  took  more  cattle,  men  servants 
and  maid  servants,  and  silver  and 
gold,  to  give  to  Abram,  and  he  re- 
turned unto  him  Sarai  his  wife. 

31.  And  the  king  took  a  maiden 
whom  he  begat  by  his  concubines, 
and  he  gave  her  to  Sarai  for  a  hand- 
maid. 

32.  And  the  king  said  to  iiis  daugh- 
ter, it  is  better  for  thee  my  daughter 
to  be  a  handmaid  in  this  man's  house 
than  to  be  a  mistress  in  my  house, 
after  we  have  beheld  the  evil  that 
befel  us  on  account  of  this  woman. 

33.  And  Abram  arose,  and  he  and 
all  belonging  to  him  went  away  from 
Egypt ;  and  Pharaoh  ordered  some 
of  his  men  to  accompany  him  and  all 
that  xcent  witli  him. 

34.  And  Abram  returned  to  the 
land  of  Canaan,  to  the  place  where 
he  had  made  the  altar,  where  he  at 
first  had  pitched  his  tent. 

35.  And  Lot  the  son  of  Haran, 
Abram's  brother,  had  a  heavy  stock 
of  cattle,  flocks  and  herds  and  tents, 
for  the  Lord  was  bountiful  to  them 
on  account  of  Abram. 

36.  And  when  Abram  was  dwel- 
ling in  the  land  the  herdsmen  of  Lot 
quarrelled  with  the  herdsmen  of 
Abram,  for  their  property  was  too 
great  for  them  to  remain  together  in 
the  land,  and  the  land  could  not  bear 
them  on  account  of  their  cattle. 

37.  And  when  Abraiu's  herdsmen 
went  to  feed  tlieir  flock  they  would 
not  go  into  the  fields  of  the  people 
of  the  land,  but  the  cattle  of  Lot's 
herdsmen  did  otherwise,  for  they 
were  suffered  to  feed  in  the  fields  of 
the  people  of  the  land. 

38.  And  the  people  of  the  land 
saw  this  occurrence  daily,  and  they 
came  to  Abram  and  quarrelled  with 
him  on  account  of  Lot's  herdsmen. 

39.  And  Abram  said  to  Lot,  what 


44 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


is  this  thou  art  doing  to  me,  to  make 
me  despicable  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  land,  that  thou  orderest  thy  herds- 
men to  feed  thy  cattle  in  the  fields 
of  other  people  ?  Dost  thou  not  know 
that  I  am  a  stranger  in  this  land 
amongst  the  children  of  Canaan,  and 
why  wilt  thou  do  this  unto  me  ? 

40.  And  Abram  quarrelled  daily 
with  Lot  on  account  of  this,  but  Lot 
would  not  listen  to  Abram,  and  he 
continued  to  do  the  same  and  the  in- 
habitants of  the  land  came  and  told 
Abram. 

41.  And  Abram  said  unto  Lot, 
how  long  wilt  thou  be  to  me  for  a 
stumbling  block  with  the  inhabitants 
of  the  land  ?  Now  1  beseech  thee 
let  there  be  no  more  quarrelling  be- 
tween us,  for  we  are  kinsmen. 

42.  But  I  pray  thee  separate  from 
me,  go  and  choose  a  place  where 
thou  mavst  dwell  with  thy  cattle  and 
all  belonging  to  thee,  but  keep  thy- 
self at  a  distance  from  me,  thou  and 
thy  household. 

43.  And  be  not  afraid  in  going 
from  me,  for  if  any  one  do  an  injury 
to  thee,  let  me  know  and  I  will 
avenge  thy  cause  from  him,  only  re- 
move from  me. 

44.  And  when  Abram  had  spoken 
all  these  words  to  Lot,  then  Lot  arose 
and  lifted  up  his  eyes  toward  the 
plain  of  Jordan. 

45.  And  he  saw  that  the  whole  of 
this  place  was  well  watered,  and 
good  for  man  as  well  as  affording 
pasture  for  the  cattle. 

46.  And  Lot  went  from  Abram  to 
that  place,  and  he  there  pitched  his 
tent  and  he  dwelt  in  Sodom,  and  they 
wxre  separated  from  each  other. 

47.  And  Abram  dwelt  in  the  plain 
of  Mamre,  which  is  in  Hebron,  and 
he  pitched  his  tent  there,  and  Abram 
remained  in  that  place  many  years. 


CHAPTER  XVL 

1.  At  that  time  Chedorlaomer 
king  of  Elam  sent  to  all  the  neigh- 
boring kings,  to  Nimrod  king  of 
Shinar  who  was  then  under  his 
power,  and  to  Tidal  king  of  Goyim, 
and  to  Arioch  king  of  Elasar,  with 
whom  he  made  a  covenant,  say- 
ing, come  up  to  me  and  assist  me, 
that  we  may  smite  all  the  towns  of 
Sodom  and  its  inhabitants,  for  they 
have  rebelled  against  me  these  thir- 
teen years. 

2.  And  these  four  kings  went  up 
with  all  their  camps,  about  eight 
lumdrcd  thousand  men,  and  they 
went  as  thev  Avcre,  and  smote  every 
man  they  found  in  their  road. 

3.  And  the  five  kings  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah,  Shinab  king  of  Ad- 
mah,  Shemeber  king  of  Zeboyim, 
Bera  king  of  Sodom,  Bersha  king 
of  Gomorrah,  and  Bela  king  of  Zo- 
ar,  went  out  to  meet  them,  and  they 
all  joined  together  in  the  valley  of 
Siddim. 

4.  And  these  nine  kings  made 
war  in  the  valley  of  Siddim ;  and 
the  kings  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
were  smitten  before  the  kings  of 
Elam. 

5.  And  the  valley  of  Siddim  was 
full  of  lime-pits  and  the  kings  of 
Elam  pursued  the  kings  of  Sodom, 
and  the  kings  of  Sodom  with  their 
camps  fled  and  fell  into  the  lime- 
pits,  and  all  that  remained  went  to 
the  mountain  for  safety,  and  the  five 
kings  of  Elam  came  after  them  and 
pursued  them  to  the  gates  of  Sodom, 
and  they  took  all  that  there  was  in 
Sodom. 

6.  And  they  plundered  all  the 
cities  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and 
they  also  took  Lot,  Abram's  brother's 
son,   and    his    property,   and    they 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


45 


seized  all  the  goods  of  the  cilics  of 
Sodom,  and  they  went  away;  and 
Unic,  Abram's  servant,  who  was  in 
the  battle,  saw  this,  and  told  Abram 
all  that  the  kings  had  done  to  the 
cities  of  Sodom,  and  that  Lot  was 
taken  captive  by  them. 

7.  And  Abram  heard  this,  and  he 
rose  up  with  about  tiu-ee  Imndrcd 
and  eighteen  men  that  were  with 
him,  and  he  that  night  pursued  these 
kings  and  smote  tiiem,  and  they  all 
fell  before  Abram  and  his  men,  and 
there  was  none  remaining  but  the 
four  kings  who  fled,  and  they  went 
each  his  otvn  road. 

8.  And  Abram  recovered  all  the 
property  of  Sodom,  and  he  also  re- 
covered Lot  and  his  property,  his 
wives  and  little  ones  and  all  belong- 
ing to  him,  so  that  Lot  lacked  no- 
thing. 

9.  And  when  he  returned  from 
smiting  these  kings,  he  and  his  men 
passed  the  valley  of  Siddim  where 
the  kings  had  made  war  together. 

10.  And  Beraking  of  Sodom,  and 
the  rest  of  his  men  that  were  with 
him,  went  out  from  the  lime-pits  in- 
to which  they  had  fallen,  to  meet 
Abram  and  his  men. 

11.  And  Adonizedek  king  of  Jeru- 
salem, the  same  was  Shem,  went  out 
with  his  men  to  meet  Abram  and  his 
people,  with  bread  and  wine,  and 
thev  remained  together  in  the  valley 
of  Melech. 

12.  And  Adonizedek  blessed  Ab- 
ram, and  Abram  gave  him  a  tenth 
from  all  that  he  had  brought  froiu 
the  spoil  of  his  enemies,  for  Adoni- 
zedek was  a  priest  before  God. 

13.  And  all  the  kings  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  Avho  were  there,  with 
their  servants,  approached  Abram 
and  begged  of  him  to  return  them 
their  servauits  whom    he  had  made 


captive,  and  to  take  unto  liimself  all 
the  property. 

14.  And  Abram  answered  the 
kings  of  Sodom,  saying,  as  the  Lord 
liveth  who  created  heaven  and  earth, 
and  who  redeemed  my  soul  from  all 
affliction,  and  who  delivered  me  this 
day  from  my  enemies,  and  gave  them 
into  my  hand,  1  will  not  take  any 
thing  belonging  to  you,  that  you  may 
not  boast  to-morrow,  saying,  Abram 
became  rich  from  our  property  tiiat 
he  saved. 

15.  For  the  Lord  my  God  in 
whom  I  trust  said  unto  me,  thou 
shalt  lack  nothing,  for  I  will  bless 
thee  in  all  the  works  of  thy  hands. 

16.  And  now  therefore  behold, 
here  is  all  belonging  to  you,  take  it 
and  go ;  as  the  Lord  liveth  I  will 
not  take  from  you  from  a  living  soul 
down  to  a  shoe  tie  or  thread,  ex- 
cepting the  expense  of  the  food  of 
those  who  went  out  with  me  to  battle, 
as  also  the  portions  of  the  men  who 
went  with  me,  Anar,  Ashcol  and 
Mamre,  they  and  their  men,  as  well 
as  those  also  who  had  remained  to 
watch  the  baggage,  they  shall  take 
their  portion  of  the  spoil. 

17.  And  the  kings  of  Sodom  gave 
Abram  according  to  all  that  he  had 
said,  and  they  pressed  him  to  take  of 
whatever  he  cliose,  but  he  would  not. 

18.  And  he  sent  away  the  kings 
of  Sodom  and  the  remainder  of  their 
men,  and  he  gave  them  orders  about 
Lot,  and  they  went  to  their  respec- 
tive places. 

19.  And  Lot,  his  brother's  son,  he 
also  sent  away  wiUi  his  property, 
and  he*  went  with  them,  and  Lot 
returned  to  his  home,  to  Sodom,  and 
Abram  and  his  people  returned  to 
their  home  to  the  plains  of  Mamre 
which  is  in  Hebron. 

*  Lot  went  with  the  kings. 


46 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


20.  At  that  lime  the  Lord  again 
appeared  to  Abram  in  Hebron,  and 
he  said  to  him,  do  not  fear,  thy  re- 
ward is  very  great  before  me,  for  I 
will  not  leave  thee,  nntill  shall  have 
multiplied  thee,  and  blessed  thee  and 
made  thy  seed  like  the  stars  in 
heaven,  which  cannot  be  measured 
nor  numbered. 

21.  And  I  will  give  unto  thy  seed 
all  these  lands  that  thou  seest  with 
thine  eyes,  to  them  will  I  give  them 
for  an  inheritance  forever,  only  be 
strong  and  do  not  fear,  walk  before 
me  and  be  perfect. 

22.  And  in  the  seventy  eighth 
year  of  the  life  of  Abram,  in  that 
year  died  Reu  the  son  of  Peleg,  and 
all  the  days  of  Reu  were  two  hundred 
and  thirty  nine  years,  and  he  died. 

23.  And  Sarai  the  daughter  of 
Haran,  Abram's  wife,  was  still  bar- 
ren in  those  days,  she  did  not  bear 
to  Abram  either  son  or  daughter. 

24.  And  when  she  saw  that  she 
bare  no  children  she  took  her  hand- 
maid Hagar^  whom  Pharaoh  had 
given  her,  and  she  gave  her  to  Ab- 
rain  her  husband  for  a  wife. 

2.5.  For  Hagar  learned  all  the 
ways  of  Sarai  as  Sarai  taught  her, 
she  was  not  in  any  way  deficient  in 
following  her  good  ways. 

26.  And  Sarai  said  to  Abram,  be- 
hold here  is  my  handmaid  Hagar, 
go  to  her  that  she  may  bring  forth 
upon  my  knees,  that  I  may  also  ob- 
tain children  through  her. 

27.  And  at  the  end  of  ten  years 
of  Abram's  dwelling  in  the  land  of 
Canaan,  which  is  the  eighty  fifth 
year  of  Abram's  life,  Sarai  gave 
Hagar  unto  him. 

28.  And  Abram  hearkened  to  the 
voice  of  his  wife  Sarai,  and  he  took 
his  handmaid  Hagar  and  Abram 
came  to  her  and  she  conceived. 


29.  And  when  Hagar  saw  that 
she  had  conceived  she  rejoiced 
greatly,  and  her  mistress  was  despis- 
ed in  her  eyes,  and  she  said  within 
herself,  this  can  only  be  that  I  am 
better  before  God  than  Sarai  my 
mistress,  for  all  the  days  that  my 
mistress  has  been  with  my  lord^  she 
did  not  conceive,  but  me  the  Lord 
has  caused  in  so  shorB  a  time  to 
conceive  by  him. 

30.  And  when  Sarai  saw  that  Ha- 
gar had  conceived  by  Abram,  Sarai 
was  jealous  of  her  handmaid,  and 
Sarai  said  within  herself,  this  is  sure- 
ly nothing  else  but  that  she  must  be 
better  than  I  am. 

31.  And  Sarai  said  unto  Abram, 
my  wrong  be  upon  thee,  for  at  the 
time  when  thou  didst  pray  before  the 
Lord  for  children  why  didst  thou  not 
pray  on  my  account,  that  the  Lord 
should  give  me  seed  from  thee  ? 

32.  And  when  I  speak  to  Hagar 
in  thy  presence,  she  despiseth  my 
words,  because,  she  has  conceived, 
and  thou  wilt  say  nothing  to  her  ; 
may  the  Lord  judge  between  me  and 
thee  for  what  thou  hast  done  to  me. 

33.  And  Abram  said  to  Sarai,  be- 
hold thy  handmaid  is  in  thy  hand,  do 
unto  her  as  it  may  seem  good  in  thy 
eyes  ;  and  Sarai  afflicted  her,  and 
Hasrar  fled  from  her  to  the  wilder- 


ness. 


34.  And  an  angel  of  the  Lord 
found  her  in  the  place  where  she  had 
fled,  by  a  well,  and  he  said  to  her, 
do  not  fear,  for  I  will  multiply  thy 
seed,  for  thou  shalt  bear  a  son  and 
thou  shalt  call  his  name  Ishmael ,' 
now  then  remrn  to  Sarai  thy  mistress 
and  submit  thyself  under  her  hands. 

35.  And  Hagar  called  the  place 
of  that  well  Beer-lahai-roi,  it  is  be- 
tween Kadcsh  and  the  wilderness  of 
Bered. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


47 


36.  And  Hagar  at  tliat  time  re- 
turned to  her  master's  house,  and  at 
the  end  of  days  Hagar  bare  a  son 
to  Abram,  and  Abram  called  his  name 
Ishmael ;  and  Abram  was  eighty-six 
years  old  when  he  begat  him. 

CHAPTER  XVH. 

1 .  And  in  those  days,  in  the  nine- 
ty-first year  of  the  life  of  Abram,  the 
children  of  Chittim  made  war  with 
the  children  of  Tubal,  for  when  the 
Lord  had  scattered  the  sons  of  men 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  the  chil- 
dren of  Chittim  went  and  embodied 
themselves  in  the  plain  of  Canopia, 
and  they  built  themselves  cities  there 
and  dwelt  by  the  river  Tibreu. 

2.  And  the  children  of  Tubal  dwelt 
in  Tuscanah,  and  their  boundaries 
reached  the  river  Tibreu,  and  the 
children  of  Tubal  built  a  city  in  Tus- 
canah, and  they  called  the  name  vSa- 
binali,  after  the  name  of  Sabinah  son 
of  Tubal  their  father,  and  they  dwelt 
there  unto  this  day. 

3.  And  it  was  at  that  time  the 
children  of  Chittim  made  war  with 
the  children  of  Tubal,  and  the  chil- 
dren of  Tubal  were  smitten  before 
the  children  of  Chittim,  and  the  chil- 
dren of  Chitiira  caused  three  hundred 
and  seventy  men  to  fall  from  the  chil- 
dren of  Tubal. 

4.  And  at  that  time  the  children 
of  Tubal  swore  to  the  children  of 
Chittim,  saying,  you  shall  not  inter- 
marry amongst  us,  and  no  man  shall 
give  his  daughter  to  any  of  the  sons 
of  Chittim. 

5.  For  all  the  daughters  of  Tubal 
were  in  those  days  fair,  for  no  women 
were  then  found  in  the  whole  earth 
so  fair  as  the  daughters  of  Tubal. 

6.  And  all  who  deliglited  in  the 
beauty  of  women  went  to  the  daugh- 


ters of  Tubal  and  took  wives  from 
them,  and  the  sons  of  men,  kings  and 
princes,  who  greatly  delighted  in  the 
beauty  of  women,  took  ivives  in  those 
days  from  the  daughters  of  Tubal. 

7.  And  at  the  end  of  three  years 
after  the  children  of  Tubal  had  sworn 
to  the  children  of  Chittim  not  to  give 
them  their  daughters  for  wives,  about 
twenty  men  of  the  children  of  Chit- 
tim went  to  take  some  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  Tubal,  but  they  found  none. 

8.  For  the  children  of  Tubal  ke}>t 
their  oaths  not  to  intermarry  with 
them,  and  they  would  not  break  their 
oaths. 

9.  And  in  the  days  of  harvest  the 
children  of  Tubal  went  into  their 
fields  to  get  in  their  harvest,  when 
the  young  men  of  Chittim  assembled 
and  went  to  the  city  of  Sabinah,  and 
each  man  took  a  young  woman  from 
the  daughters  of  Tubal,  and  they 
came  to  their  cities. 

10.  And  the  children  of  Tubal 
heard  of  it  aiid  they  went  to  make 
war  with  them,  and  they  could  not 
prevail  over  them,  for  the  mountain 
was  exceedingly  high  from  them,  and 
when  they  saw  they  could  not  pre- 
vail over  them  they  returned  to  their 
land. 

And  at  the  revolution  of  the  year 
the  children  of  Tubal  went  and  hired 
about  ten  thousand  men  from  those 
cities  that  were  near  them,  and  they 
went  to  war  with  the  children  of 
Chittim. 

12.  And  the  children  of  Tubal 
went  to  war  with  the  children  of 
Chittim,  to  destroy  their  land  and  to 
distress  them,  and  in  this  cnga,s;e- 
nient  the  children  of  Tubal  prevailed 
over  the  children  of  Chittim,  and  the 
children  of  Chittim,  seeing  that  they 
were  greatly  distressed,  lifted  up  the 
children  which  they  had  had  by  the 


48 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


daughters  of  Tubal,  upon  the  wall 
which  had  been  built,  to  be  before 
the  eyes  of  the  children  of  Tubal. 

13.  And  the  children  of  Chittim 
said  to  them,  have  you  come  to  make 
war  with  your  own  sons  and  daugh- 
ters, and  have  we  not  been  consi- 
dered your  flesh  and  bones  from  that 
time  till  now  ? 

14.  And  when  the  children  of  Tu- 
bal heard  this  they  ceased  to  make 
war  with  the  children  of  Chittim,  and 
they  went  away. 

'15.  And  they  returned  to  their 
cities,  and  the  children  of  Chittim  at 
that  time  assembled  and  built  two 
cities  by  the  sea,  and  they  called 
one  Purtu  and  the  other  Ariza. 

16.  And  Abram  the  son  of  Terah 
was  then  ninety-nine  years  old. 

17.  At  that  time  the  Lord  appear- 
ed to  him  and  he  said  to  him,  I  will 
make  my  covenant  between  me  and 
thee,  and  I  will  greatly  multiply  thy 
seed,  and  this  is  the  covenant  which 
I  make  between  me  and  thee,  that 
every  male  child  be  circumcised,  thou 
and  thy  seed  after  thee. 

18.  At  eight  days  old  shall  it  be 
circumcised,  and  this  covenant  shall 
be  in  your  flesh  for  an  everlasting 
covenant. 

19.  And  now  therefore  thy  name 
shall  no  more  be  called  Abram  but 
Abraham,  and  thy  wife  shall  no  more 
be  called  Sarai  but  Sarah. 

20.  For  I  will  bless  you  both,  and 
I  will  multiply  your  seed  after  you 
that  you  shall  become  a  great  nation, 
and  kings  sliall  come  forth  from  you. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

1 .  And  Abraham  rose  and  did  all 
that  God  had  ordered  him,  and  he 
took  the  men  of  his  household  and 
those    bought  with  his  money,  and 


he  circumcised  them  as  the  Lord  had 
commanded  him. 

2.  And  there  was  not  one  left 
whom  he  did  not  circumcise,  and 
Abraham  and  his  son  Ishmael  were 
circumcised  in  the  flesh  of  their  fore- 
skin ;  thirteen  years  old  was  Ishmael 
when  he  was  circumcised  in  the  flesh 
of  his  foreskin. 

3.  And  in  the  third  day  Abraham 
went  out  of  his  tent  and  sat  at  the 
door  to  enjoy  the  heat  of  the  sun, 
during  the  pain  of  his  flesh. 

4.  And  the  Lord  appeared  to  him 
in  the  plain  of  Mamre,  and  sent  three 
of  his  ministering  angels  to*  visit 
him,  and  he  was  sitting  at  the  door 
of  the  tent,  and  he  lifted  up  his  eyes 
and  saw,  and  lo,  three  men  Avere 
coming  from  a  distance,  and  he  rose 
up  and  ran  to  meet  them,  and  he 
bowed  down  to  them  and  brought 
them  into  his  house. 

5.  And  he  said  to  them,  if  now  I 
have  found  favor  in  your  sight,  turn 
in  and  eat  a  morsel  of  bread  ;  and  he 
pressed  them,  and  they  turned  in  and 
he  gave  them  water  and  they  washed 
their  feet,  and  he  placed  them  under 
a  tree  at  the  door  of  the  tent. 

6.  And  Abraham  ran  and  took  a 
calf,  tender  and  good,  and  he  hasten- 
ed to  kill  it,  and  gave  it  to  his  ser- 
vant Eliezer  to  dress. 

7.  And  Abraham  came  to  Sarah 
into  the  tent,  and  he  said  to  her, 
make  ready  quickly  three  measures 
of  fine  meal,  knead  it  and  make 
cakes  to  cover  the  pot  containing  the 
meat,  and  she  did  so. 

8.  And  Abraham  hastened  and 
brought  before  them  butter  and 
milk,  beef  and  mutton,  and  gave  it 
before  them  to  eat  before  the  flesh  of 
the  calf  was  sufficiently  done,  and 
they  did  eat. 

Hebrew  y'pi^,  to  seek  or -inquire  after  him. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


49 


9.  And  when  ihey  had  done  eat- 
ing, 0716  of  them  said  to  him,  I  will 
return  to  thee  according  to  the  time 
of  hfe,  and  Sarah  thy  wife  shall  have 
a  son. 

10.  And  the  men  afterward  de- 
parted and  went  their  ways,  to  the 
places  to  which  they  were  sent. 

11.  In  those  days  all  the  people 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  of  the 
whole  five  cities,  were  exceedingly 
wicked  and  sinful  against  the  Lord, 
and  they  provoked  the  Lord  with 
their  abominations,  and  they  strength- 
ened in  acting  abominably  and  scorn- 
fully before  the  Lord,  and  their 
wickedness  and  crimes  were  in  those 
days  great  before  the  Lord. 

12.  And  they  had  in  their  land  a 
very  extensive  valley,  about  half  a 
day's  walk,  and  in  it  there  were 
fountains  of  water  and  a  great  deal 
of  herbage  surrounding  the  water. 

13.  And  all  the  people  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  went  there  four  times 
in  the  year,  with  their  wives  and 
children  and  all  belonging  to  them, 
and  they  rejoiced  there  with  timbrels 
and  dances. 

14.  And  in  tlie  lime  of  rejoicing 
they  would  all  rise  and  lay  hold  of 
their  neighbors'  wives,  and  some, 
the  virffin  daughters  of  their  neigh- 
bors,  and  they  enjoyed  them,  and 
each  man  saw  his  wife  and  daugh- 
ter in  the  hands  of  his  neighbor 
and  did  not  say  a  word. 

15.  And  they  did  so  from  morn- 
ing to  night,  and  they  afterward  re- 
turned home  each  man  to  his  house 
and  each  woman  to  her  lent ;  so 
they  always  did  four  times  in  the 
year. 

16.  Also  when  a  stranger  came 
into  their  cities  and  brought  goods 
which  he  had  purchased  with  a  view 
to  dispose  of  there,  the  people    of 


these  cities  would  assemble,  men, 
women  and  children,  young  and  old, 
and  go  to  the  man  and  take  his  goods 
by  force,  giving  a  little  to  each  man 
until  there  was  an  end  to  all  the 
goods  of  the  owner  which  he  had 
brought  into  the  land. 

17.  And  if  the  owner  of  the  goods 
quarreled  with  them,  saying,  what 
is  this  work  which  you  have  done  to 
me,  then  they  would  approach  to 
him  one  by  one,  and  each  would 
show  him  the  little  which  he  took 
and  taunt  hiin,  saying,  I  only  took 
that  little  which  thou  didst  give  me  ; 
and  when  he  heard  this  from  them 
all,  he  would  arise  and  go  from  them 
in  sorrow  and  bitterness  of  soul, 
when  they  would  all  arise  and  go 
after  him,  and  drive  him  out  of  the 
city  with  great  noise  and  tumult. 

18.  And  there  was  a  man  from 
the  country  of  Elam  who  was 
leisurely  going  on  the  road,  seated 
upon  his  ass,  wdiich  carried  a  fine 
mantle  of  divers  colors,  and  the 
mantle  was  bound  with  a  cord  upon 
the  ass. 

19.  And  the  man  was  on  his  jour- 
ney passing  through  the  street  of 
Sodom  when  the  sun  set  in  the  even- 
ing, and  he  remained  there  in  order 
to  abide  during  the  night,  but  no 
one  would  let  him  into  his  house ; 
and  at  that  time  there  was  in  Sodom 
a  wicked  and  mischievous  man,  one 
skilful  to  do  evil,  and  his  name  was 
Hedad. 

20.  And  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  and 
saw  the  traveller  in  the  street  of  the 
city,  and  he  came  to  him  and  said, 
whence  comest  thou  and  whither 
dost  thou  go? 

21.  And  the  man  said  to  him,  I 
am  travelling  from  Hebron  to  Elam 
where  I  belong,  and  as  T  passed  the 
sun  set  and  no  one  would  suffer  me 


50 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


to  enter  his  house,  though  I  had 
bread  and  water  and  also  straw  and 
provender  for  my  ass,  and  am  short 
of  nothing. 

22.  And  Hedad  answered  and 
said  to  him,  all  that  thou  shalt  want 
shall  be  supplied  by  me,  but  in  the 
street  thou  shalt  not  abide  all  night. 

23.  And  Hedad  brought  him  to 
his  house,  and  he  took  off  the  mantle 
from  the  ass  with  the  cord,  and 
brought  them  to  his  house,  and  he 
gave  the  ass  straw  and  provender 
whilst  the  traveller  ate  and  drank  in 
Hedad's  house,  and  he  abided  there 
that  night. 

24.  And  in  the  morning  the  tra- 
veller rose  up  early  to  continue  his 
journey,  when  Hedad  said  to  him, 
wait,  comfort  thy  heart  with  a  mor- 
sel of  bread  and  then  go,  and  the 
man  did  so ;  and  he  remained  with 
him,  and  they  both  ate  and  drank 
together  during  the  day,  when  the 
man  rose  up  to  go. 

25.  And  Hedad  said  to  him,  be- 
hold now  the  day  is  declining,  thou 
hadst  better  remain  all  night  that  thy 
heart  may  be  comforted ;  and  he 
pressed  him  so  that  he  tarried  there 
all  night,  and  on  the  second  day  he 
rose  up  early  to  go  away,  when  He- 
dad pressed  him,  saying,  comfort 
thy  heart  vi'ith  a  morsel  of  bread  and 
then  go;  and  he  remained  and  ate 
with  him  also  the  second  day,  and 
then  the  man  rose  up  to  continue 
his  journey. 

26.  And  Hedad  said  to  him,  be- 
hold now  the  day  is  declining,  remain 
with  me  to  comfort  thy  heart  and  in 
the  morning  rise  up  early  and  go  thy 
way. 

27.  And  the  man  would  not  re- 
main, but  rose  and  saddled  his  ass, 
and  whilst  he  was  saddling  his  ass 
the  wife  of  Hedad  said  to  her  hus- 


band, behold  this  man  has  remained 
with  us  for  two  days  eating  and 
drinking  and  he  has  given  us  nothing, 
and  now  shall  he  go  away  from  us 
without  giving  any  thing  ?  and  He- 
dad said  to  her,  be  silent. 

28.  And  the  man  saddled  his  ass 
to  go,  and  he  asked  Hedad  to  give 
him  the  cord  and  mantle  to  tie  it  up- 
on the  ass. 

29.  And  Hedad  said  to  him,  what 
sayest  ihou?  and  he  said  to  him, 
that  thou  my  lord  shalt  give  me  the 
cord  and  the  mantle  made  with  divers 
colors  which  thou  didst  conceal  with 
thee  in  thy  house  to  take  care  of  it. 

30.  And  Hedad  answered  the 
man,  saying,  this  is  the  interpreta- 
tion of  thy  dream,  the  cord  which 
thou  didst  see,  means  that  thy  life 
will  be  lengthened  out  like  a  cord,, 
and  having  seen  tlie  mantle  colored 
with  all  sorts  of  colors,  means  that 
thou  shalt  have  a  vineyard  in  which 
thou  wilt  plant  trees  of  all  fruits. 

31.  And  the  traveller  answered^ 
saying,  not  so  my  lord,  for  I  was 
awake  when  I  gave  thee  the  cord 
and  also  a  mantle  woven  with  differ- 
ent colors,  which  thou  didst  take  off 
the  ass  to  put  them  hj  for  me ;  and 
Hedad  answered  and  said,  surely  I 
have  told  thee  the  interpretation  of 
thy  dream  and  it  is  a  good  dream^ 
and  this  is  the  interpretation  there- 
of. 

32.  Now  the  sons  of  men  give 
me  four  pieces  of  silver,  which  is  my 
charge  for  interpreting  dreams,  and 
of  thee  only  I  require  three  pieces  of 
silver. 

33.  And  the  man  was  provoked 
at  the  words  of  Hedad,  and  he  cried 
bitterly,  and  he  brought  Hedad  to 
Serak  judge  of  Sodom. 

34.  And  the  man  laid  his  cause 
before  Serak  the  judge,  when  Hedad 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


51 


replied,  saying,  it  is  not  so,  bat  thus 
the  matter  stands;  and  the  judrie  said 
to  the  traveller,  this  man  Hedad  tell- 
eth  thee  truth,  for  he  is  famed  in  the 
cities  for  the  accurate  interpretation 
of  dreams. 

35.  And  the  man  cried  at  the  word 
of  the  judge,  and  he  said,  not  so  my 
Lord,  for  it  was  in  the  day  that  I 
gave  him  the  cord  and  mantle  which 
was  upon  the  ass,  in  order  to  j)Ut  them 
by  in  his  house  ;  and  they  both  dis- 
puted before  the  judge,  the  one  say- 
ing thus  the  matter  was,  and  the  other 
declaring  otherwise. 

36.  And  Hedad  said  to  the  man, 
give  me  four  pieces  of  silver  that  I 
charge  for  my  interpretations  of 
dreams  ;  1  will  not  make  any  allow- 
ance ;  and  give  me  the  expense  of  the 
four  meals  that  thou  didst  eat  in  my 
house. 

37.  And  the  man  said  to  Hedad, 
truly  I  will  pay  thee  for  what  I  ate 
in  thy  house,  only  give  me  the  cord 
and  mantle  which  thou  didst  conceal 
in  thy  house. 

38.  And  Hedad  replied  before  the 
judge  and  said  to  the  man,  did  I  not 
tell  thee  the  interpretation  of  thy 
dream  ?  the  cord  means  that  thy  days 
shall  be  prolonged  like  a  cord,  and 
the  mantle,  that  thou  wilt  have  a 
vineyard  in  which  thou  wilt  plant  all 
kinds  of  fruit  trees. 

39.  This  is  the  proper  interpreta- 
tion of  thy  dream,  now  give  me  the 
four  pieces  of  silver  that  I  require  as 
a  compensation,  for  I  will  make  thee 
no  allowance. 

40.  And  the  man  cried  at  the 
words  of  Hedad  and  they  both  quar- 
reled before  the  judge,  and  the  judge 
gave  orders  to  his  servants,  who  drove 
them  rashly  from  the  house. 

41.  And  they  went  away  quarrel- 
ing from  the  judge,  when  the  people 


of  Sodom  heard  them,  and  they  ga- 
thered about  them  and  they  exclaim- 
ed against  the  stranger,  and  they 
drove  him  rashly  from  the  city. 

42.  And  the  man  continued  his 
journey  upon  his  ass  with  bitterness 
of  soul,  lamenting  and  weeping. 

43.  And  whilst  he  was  going  along 
he  wept  at  what  had  happened  to  him 
in  the  corrupt  city  of  Sodom. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

1 .  And  the  cities  of  Sodom  had 
four  judges  to  four  cities,  and  these 
were  their  names,  Serak  in  the  city 
of  Sodom,  Sharkad  in  Gomorrah, 
Zabnac  in  Admah,  and  Mcnon  in 
Zeboyim. 

2.  And  Eliezcr  Abraham's  servant 
applied  to  them  different  names,  and 
he  converted  Serak  to  *Shakra, 
Sharkad  to  Shakrura,  Zabnac  to  Ke- 
zobim,  and  Menon  to  Matzlodin. 

3.  And  by  desire  of  their  four 
judges  the  people  of  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah  had  beds  erected  in  the 
streets  of  the  cities,  and  if  a  man 
came  to  these  places  they  laid  hold 
of  him  and  brought  him  to  one  of 
their  beds,  and  by  force  made  him 
to  lie  in  them. 

4.  And  as  he  lay  down,  three  men 
would  stand  at  his  head  and  three  at 
his  feet,  and  measure  him  by  the 
length  of  the  bed,  and  if  the  man  was 
less  than  the  bed  these  six  men  would 
stretch  him  at  each  end,  and  when 
he  cried  out  to  them  they  would  not 
answer  him. 

5.  And  if  he  was  longer  than  the 
bed  then  they  would  draw  together 
the  two  sides  of  the  bed  at  each  end, 

*c<3T3  NTnp;:'  Nipc  are  different  names  for 
falsehood.  Eliezcr  made  these  puns  upon  their 
names  to  show  that  falsehood  formed  the  foun- 
dation of  their  decisions. 


52 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


until  the  man  had  reached  the  gates 
of  death. 

6.  And  if  he  continued  to  cry  out 
to  them,  they  would  answer  him, 
saying,  thus  shall  it  be  done  to  a  man 
that  Cometh  into  our  land. 

7.  And  when  men  heard  all  these 
things  that  the  people  of  the  chies  of 
Sodom  did,  they  refrained  from  com- 
ing there. 

8.  And  when  a  poor  man  came  to 
their  land  they  would  give  him  silver 
and  gold,  and  cause  a  proclamation 
in  the  whole  city  not  to  give  him  a 
morsel  of  bread  to  eat,  and  if  the 
stranger  should  remain  there  some 
days,  and  die  from  hunger,  not  hav- 
ing been  able  to  obtain  a  morsel  of 
bread,  then  at  his  death  all  the  peo- 
ple of  the  city  would  come  and  take 
their  silver  and  gold  which  they  had 
given  to  him. 

9.  And  those  that  could  recognize 
the  silver  or  gold  which  they  had 
given  him  took  it  back,  and  at  his 
death  they  also  stripped  him  of  his 
garments,  and  they  would  fight  about 
them,  and  he  diat  prevailed  over  his 
neighbor  took  them. 

19.  They  would  after  that  carry 
liim  and  burj^  him  under  some  of  the 
shrubs  in  the  deserts  ;  so  they  did 
all  the  days  to  any  one  that  came  to 
them  and  died  in  their  land. 

11.  And  in  the  course  of  time 
Sarah  sent  Eliezer  to  Sodom,  to  see 
Lot  and  inquire  after  his  welfare. 

12.  And  Eliezer  went  to  Sodom, 
and  he  met  a  man  of  Sodom  fighting 
with  a  stranger,  and  the  man  of  So- 
dom stripped  the  poor  man  of  all  his 
clothes  and  went  away. 

13.  And  this  poor  man  cried  to 
Eliezer  and  supplicated  his  favor 
on  account  of  what  the  man  of  Sodom 
had  done  to  him. 

14.  And  he  said  to  him,  why  dost 


thou  act  thus  to  the  poor  man  who 
came  to  thy  land  ? 

15.  And  the  man  of  Sodom  an- 
swered Eliezer,  saying,  is  this  man 
thy  brother,  or  have  the  people  of 
Sodom  made  thee  a  judge  this  day, 
that  thou  speakest  about  this  man  ? 

16.  And  Eliezer  strove  with  the 
man  of  Sodom  on  account  of  the  poor 
man,  and  when  Eliezer  approached 
to  recover  the  poor  man's  clothes 
from  the  man  of  Sodom,  he  hastened 
and  with  a  stone  smote  Eliezer  in  the 
forehead. 

17.  And  the  blood  flowed  copious- 
ly from  Eliezer's  forehead,  and  when 
the  man  saw  the  blood  he  caught 
hold  of  Eliezer,  saying,  give  me  my 
hire  for  having  rid  thee  of  this  bad 
blood  that  was  in  thy  forehead,  for 
such  is  the  custom  and  the  law  in 
our  land. 

18.  And  Eliezer  said  to  him,  thou 
hast  wounded  me  and  reqiiirest  me 
to  pay  thee  thy  hire ;  and  Eliezer 
would  not  hearken  to  the  words  of 
the  man  of  Sodom. 

19.  And  the  man  laid  hold  of  Elie- 
zer and  brought  him  to  Shakra  the 
judge  of  Sodom  for  judgment. 

20.  And  the  man  spoke  to  the 
judge,  saying,  I  beseech  thee  my  lord, 
thus  has  this  man  done,  for  I  smote 
him  with  a  stone  that  the  blood  flowed 
from  his  forehead,  and  he  is  unwil- 
ling to  give  me  my  hire. 

21.  And  the  judge  said  to  Eliezer, 
this  man  speakelh  truth  to  thee,  give 
him  his  hire,  for  this  is  the  custom  in 
our  land ;  and  Eliezer  heard  the 
words  of  the  judge  and  he  lifted  up 
a  stone  and  smote  the  judge,  and  the 
stone  struck  on  his  forehead  and  the 
blood  flowed  copiously  from  the  fore- 
head of  the  judge,  and  Eliezer  said, 
if  this  then  is  the  custom  in  your  land 
give  thou  unto  this  man  what  I  should 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


53 


liavc  given  him,  for  lliis   has  been 
tliv  decision,  thou  didsl  decree  it. 

22.  And  Ehezer  left  the  man  of 
Sodom  with  the  judge,  and  he  went 
away. 

23.  And  when  the  kings  of  Elam 
had  made  war  with  the  kings  of  So- 
dom, the  kings  of  EL'im  captured  all 
the  property  of  iSodom,  and  they  look 
Lot  captive,  with  his  property,  and 
when  it  was  told  to  iVbraham  he  went 
and  made  war  with  the  kings  of 
Elam,  and  he  recovered  from  their 
hands  all  the  projierty  of  Lot  as  well 
as  the  property  of  iSodom. 

24.  At  that  time  the  wife  of  Lot 
bare  him  a  daughter,  and  he  called 
her  name  Paltith,  saying,  because 
God  had  delivered  him  and  his  whole 
household  from  the  kings  of  Elam  ; 
and  Paltith  daughter  of  Lot  grew  up» 
and  one  of  the  men  of  Sodom  took 
her  for  a  wife. 

25.  And  a  poor  man  came  into  the 
city  to  seek  a  maintenance,  and  he 
remained  in  the  city  some  days,  and 
all  the  people  of  Sodom  caused  a 
proclamation  of  their  custom  not  to 
give  this  man  a  morsel  of  bread  to 
eat,  until  he  dropped  dead  upon  the 
earth,  and  they  did  so. 

26.  And  Paltith  the  daughter  of 
Lot  saw  this  man  lying  in  the  streets 
starved  with  hunger,  and  no  one 
would  give  him  any  thing  to  keep 
him  alive,  and  he  was  just  upon  the 
point  of  death. 

27.  And  her  soul  was  filled  with 
pity  on  account  of  the  man,  and  she 
fed  him  secretly  with  bread  for  many 
days,  and  the  soul  of  this  man  was 
revived. 

For  when  she  went  forth  to  fetch 
water  she  would  put  the  bread  in 
the  water  pitcher,  and  when  she  came 
to  the  place  where  the  poor  man  was, 
she  took  the  bread  from  the  pitcher 


and  gave  it  him  to  cat ;  so  she  did 
many  days. 

29.  And  all  the  pcoj)lc  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  wondered  how  this 
man  could  bear  starvation  for  so 
many  days. 

30.  And  they  said  to  each  other, 
this  can  only  be  that  he  eats  and 
drinks,  for  no  man  can  bear  starva- 
tion for  so  many  days  or  live  as  this 
man  has,  without  even  his  counten- 
ance changing  ;  and  three  men  con- 
cealed themselves  in  a  place  where 
the  poor  man  was  stationed,  to  know 
who  it  was  that  brought  him  bread 
to  eat. 

31.  And  Paltitli  daughter  of  Lot 
went  -forth  that  day  to  fetch  water, 
and  she  put  bread  into  her  pitcher  of 
water,  and  she  went  to  draw  water 
by  the  poor  man's  place,  and  she 
took  out  the  bread  from  the  pitcher 
and  gave  it  to  the  poor  man  and  he 
ate  it. 

32.  And  the  three  men  saw  what 
Paltitli  did  to  the  poor  man,  and  they 
said  to  her,  it  is  thou  then  who  hast 
supported  him,  and  therefore  has  he 
not  starved,  nor  changed  in  appear- 
ance, nor  died  like  the  rest. 

33.  And  the  three  men  went  out 
of  the  place  in  which  they  were  con- 
cealed, and  they  seized  Paltith  and 
the  bread  which  was  in  the  poor 
man's  hand. 

34.  And  they  took  Paltitli  and 
brought  her  before  their  judges,  and 
they  said  to  them,  thus  did  she  do, 
and  it  is  she  who  supplied  the  poor 
man  with  bread,  therefore  did  he 
not  die  all  this  time  ;  now  therefore 
declare  to  us  the  punishment  due 
to  this  woman  for  having  transgress- 
ed our  law. 

35.  And  the  people  of  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah  assembled  and  kindled  a 
fire  in  the  street  of  the  city,  and  they 


54 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


took  the  woman  and  cast  her  into  the 
fire  and  she  was  burned  to  ashes. 

36.  And  in  the  city  of  Admah 
there  was  a  woman  to  whom  they 
did  the  Uke. 

37.  J'or  a  traveller  came  into  the 
city  of  Admah  to  abide  there  all 
night,  with  the  intention  of  going 
home  in  the  morning,  and  he  sat  op- 
posite the  door  of  the  house  of  the 
young  woman's  father,  to  remain 
there,  as  the  sun  had  set  when  he  had 
reached  that  place;  and  the  young 
woman  saw  him  sitting  by  the  door 
of  the  house. 

38.  And  he  asked  her  for  a  drink 
of  water  and  she  said  to  him,  who 
art  thou  ?  and  he  said  to  her  I  was 
this  day  going  on  the  road,  and 
reached  here  when  the  sun  set,  so  I 
will  abide  here  all  night,  and  in  the 
morning  I  will  arise  early  and  con- 
tinue my  journey. 

39.  And  the  young  woman  went 
into  the  house  and  fetched  the  man 
bread  and  water  to  eat  and  drink. 

40.  And  this  affair  became  known 
to  the  people  of  Admah,  and  they  as- 
sembled and  brought  the  young  wo- 
man before  the  judges,  that  they 
should  judge  her  for  this  act. 

41.  And  the  judge  said  the  judg- 
ment of  death  7nust  pass  upon  this 
woman  because  she  transgressed  our 
law,  and  this  therefore  is  the  deci- 
sion concerning  her. 

42.  And  the  people  of  those  cities 
assembled  and  brought  out  the  young 
woman,  and  anointed  her  with  honey 
from  head  to  foot,  as  the  judge  had 
decreed,  and  they  placed  her  before 
a  swarm  of  bees  which  were  then 
in  their  hives,  and  the  bees  flew  up- 
on her  and  stung  her  that  her  whole 
body  was  swelled. 

43.  And  the  young  woman  cried 
out  on  acconnt  of  the  bees,  but  no 


one  took  notice  of  her  or  pitied  her, 
and  her  cries  ascended  to  heaven. 

44.  And  the  Lord  was  provoked 
at  this  and  at  all  the  works  of  the 
cities  of  Sodom,  for  they  had  abun- 
dance of  food  and  had  tranquility 
amongst  them,  and  still  would  not 
sustain  the  poor  and  the  needy,  and 
in  those  days  their  evil  doings  and 
sins  became  great  before  the  Lord. 

45.  And  the  Lord  sent  for  two  of 
the  angels  that  had  come  to  Abra- 
ham's house,  to  destroy  Sodom  and 
its  cities. 

4t>.  And  the  angels  rose  up  from 
the  door  of  Abraham's  tent,  after 
they  had  eaten  and  dnmk,  and  they 
reached  Sodom  in  the  evening,  and 
Lot  was  then  sitting  in  the  gate  of 
Sodom,  and  when  he  saw  them  he 
rose  to  meet  them  and  he  bowed 
down  to  the  groimd. 

47.  And  he  pressed  them  greatly 
and  brought  them  into  his  house,  and 
he  gave  them  victuals  which  they 
ate,  and  they  abided  all  night  in  his 
house. 

48.  And  the  angels  said  to  Lot, 
arise,  go  forth  from  this  place,  thou 
and  all  belonging  to  thee,  lest  thou 
be  consumed  in  the  iniquity  of  this 
city,  for  the  Lord  will  destroy  this 
place. 

49.  And  the  angels  laid  hold  upon 
the  hand  of  Lot  and  upon  the  hand 
of  his  wife,  and  upon  the  hands  of 
his  children,  and  all  belonging  to 
him,  and  they  brought  him  forth  and 
set  him  without  the  cities. 

50.  And  they  said  to  Lot,  escape 
for  thy  life,  and  he  fled  and  all  be- 
longing to  him. 

51.  Then  the  Lord  rained  upon 
Sodom  and  upon  Gomorrah  and  up- 
on all  these  cities  brimstone  and  fire 
from  the  Lord  out  of  heaven. 

52.  And  he  overthrew  these  cities, 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


aJl  the  plain  and  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  cities,  and  that  which  grew 
upon  the  ground  ;  and  Ado  the  wife 
of  Lot  looked  back  to  see  the  de- 
struction of  the  cities,  for  her  com- 
passion was  moved  on  account  of  iier 
daughters  who  remained  in  Sodom, 
for  they  did  not  go  with  licr. 

53.  And  when  slie  looked  back 
she  became  a  piUar  of  salt,  and  it  is 
yet  in  that  place  unto  this  day. 

54.  And  the  oxen  which  stood  in 
that  place  daily  licked  up  tlie  salt  to 
the  extremities  of  their  feet,  and  in 
the  morning  it  would  spring  forth 
afresh,  and  they  again  licked  it  up 
unto  this  day. 

55.  And  Lot  and  two  of  his 
daughters  that  remained  with  him 
fled  and  escaped  to  the  cave  of 
Adullam,  and  they  remained  there 
for  some  time. 

56.  And  Abraham  rose  up  early 
in  the  morning  to  see  what  had  been 
done  to  the  cities  of  Sodom  ;  and  he 
looked  and  beheld  the  smoke  of  the 
cities  going  up  like  the  smoke  of  a 
furnace. 

57.  And  Lot  and  his  two  daugh- 
ters remained  in  the  cave,  and  they 
made  their  father  drink  wine,  and 
they  lay  with  him,  for  they  said 
there  was  no  man  upon  earth  that 
could  raise  up  seed  from  them,  for 
they  tliought  that  the  whole  earth 
was  destroyed. 

58.  And  they  both  lay  with  their 
father,  and  they  conceived  and  bare 
sons,  and  the  first  born  called  the 
name  of  her  son  Moab,  saying,  from 
my  father  did  I  conceive  him  ;  he  is 
the  father  of  the  Moabites  unto  this 
day. 

59.  And  the  younger  also  called 
her  son  Benami  ;  he  is  the  father  of 
the  children  of  Ammon  unto  this 
day. 


60.  And  after  this  Lot  and  his  two 
daughters  went  away  from  there,  and 
he  dwelt  on  the  otlier  side  of  the 
Jordan  with  his  two  daughters  ami 
their  sons,  and  the  sons  of  Lot  grew 
up,  and  they  went  and  took  them- 
selves wives  from  the  land  of 
Canaan,  and  they  begat  children  and 
they  w^ere  fruitful  and  multiplied. 

CPLVPTER  XX. 

1 .  And  at  that  time  Abraham  jour- 
neyed from  the  plain  of  Mamre,  and 
he  went  to  the  land  of  the  Philistines, 
and  he  dwelt  in  Gerar  ;  it  was  in  the 
twenty-fifth  year  of  Abraham's  being 
in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  the  hun- 
drcth  year  of  the  life  of  Abraham, 
tliat  he  came  to  Gerar  in  the  land  of 
the  Philistines. 

2.  And  when  they  entered  the  land 
he  said  to  Sarah  his  wife,  say  thou 
art  my  sister,  to  any  one  that  shall 
ask  thee,  in  order  that  we  may  es- 
cape the  evil  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land. 

3.  And  as  Abraham  was  dwelling 
in  the  land  of  the  Philistines,  the  ser- 
vants of  Abimelech,  king  of  the  Phi- 
listines, saw  that  Sarah  was  exceed- 
ingly beautiful,  and  they  asked  Abra- 
ham concerning  her,  and  he  said,  she 
is  my  sister. 

4.  And  the  servants  of  Abimelech 
went  to  Abimelech,  saying,  a  man 
from  the  land  of  Canaan  is  come  to 
dwell  in  the  land,  and  he  has  a  sister 
that  is  exceeding  fair. 

5.  And  Abimelech  heard  the  words 
of  his  servants  who  praised  Sarah  to 
him,  and  Abimelech  sent  his  oflicers, 
and  they  brought  Sarah  to  the  king. 

6.  And  Sarah  came  to  the  house 
of  Abimelech,  and  the  king  saw  that 
Sarah  was  beautiful,  and  she  pleased 
him  e.xceedingly. 


56 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASIIER. 


7.  And  he  approached  her  and 
said  to  her,  what  is  that  man  to  thee 
with  whom  thou  didst  come  to  our 
land  ?  and  Sarah  answered  and  said 
he  is  my  brother,  and  we  came  from 
the  land  of  Canaan  to  dwell  wherever 
we  could  find  a  place. 

8.  And  Abimelech  said  to  Sarah, 
behold  my  land  is  before  thee,  place 
thy  brother  in  any  part  of  this  land 
that  pleases  thee,  and  it  will  be  our 
duty  to  exalt  and  elevate  him  above 
all  the  people  of  the  land  since  he  is 
thy  brother. 

9.  And  Abimelech  sent  for  Abra- 
ham, and  Abraham  came  to  Abime- 
lech. 

1 0.  And  Abimelech  said  to  Abra- 
ham, behold  I  have  given  orders  that 
thou  shalt  be  honored  as  thou  de- 
sirest  on  account  of  thy  sister  Sarah. 

1 1 .  And  Abraham  went  forth  from 
the  king,  and  the  king's  present  fol- 
lowed him. 

12.  As  at  evening  time,  before 
men  lie  down  to  rest,  the  king  was 
sitting  upon  his  throne,  and  a  deep 
sleep  fell  upon  him,  and  he  lay  upon 
the  throne  and  slept  till  morning. 

13.  And  he  dreamed  that  an  angel 
of  the  Lord  came  to  him  with  a 
drawn  sword  in  his  hand,  and  the 
angel  stood  over  Abimelech,  and 
wished  to  slay  him  with  the  sword, 
and  the  king  was  terrified  in  his 
dream,  and  said  to  the  angel,  in  what 
have  I  sinned  against  thee  that  thou 
comest  to  slay  me  with  thy  sword  ? 

14.  And  the  angel  answered  and 
said  to  Abimelech,  behold  thou  diest 
on  account  of  the  woman  which  thou 
didst  yesternight  bring  to  thy  house, 
for  she  is  a  married  woman,  the  wife 
of  Abraham  who  came  to  thy  house  ; 
now  therefore  return  that  man  his 
wife,  for  she  is  his  wife  ;  and  shouldst 
thou  not  return  her,  know  that  thou 


wilt  surely  die,  thou  and  all  belong- 
ing to  thee, 

15.  And  on  that  night  there  was 
a  great  outcry  in  the  land  of  the  Phi- 
listines, and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land  saw  the  figure  of  a  man  stand- 
ing with  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand, 
and  he  smote  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land  with  the  sword,  yea  he  continued 
to  smite  them. 

16.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
smote  the  whole  land  of  the  Philis- 
tines on  that  night,  and  there  was  a 
great  confusion  on  that  night  and  on 
the  following  morning. 

17.  And  every  womb  w^as  closed, 
and  all  their  issues,  and  the  hand  of 
the  Lord  was  upon  them  on  account 
of  Sarah,  wife  of  Abraham,  whom 
Abimelech  had  taken. 

18.  And  in  the  morning  Abime- 
lech rose  with  terror  and  confusion 
and  with  a  great  dread,  and  he  sent 
and  had  his  servants  called  in,  and 
he  related  his  dream  to  them,  and 
the  people  were  greatly  afraid. 

19.  And  one  man  standing  amongst 
the  servants  of  the  king  answered 
the  king,  saying,  O  sovereign  king, 
restore  this  woman  to  her  husband, 
for  lie  is  her  husband,  for  the  like 
happened  to  the  king  of  Egypt  when 
this  man  came  to  Egypt. 

20.  And  he  said  concerning  his 
wife,  she  is  my  sister,  for  such  is  his 
manner  of  doing  when  he  cometh  to 
dwell  in  the  land  in  which  he  is  a 
stranger. 

21.  And  Pharaoh  sent  and  took 
this  woman  for  a  wife,  and  the  Lord 
brought  upon  him  grievous  plagues 
until  he  returned  the  woman  to  her 
husband. 

22.  Now  therefore,  O  sovereign 
king,  know  what  happened  yester- 
night to  the  whole  land,  for  there  was 
a  very  great  consternation  and  great 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


57 


pain  and  lamentation,  and  we  know 
that  this  was  on  account  of  the  wo- 
man which  thou  didst  take. 

23.  Now  llierefore,  restore  this 
woman  to  her  husband,  lest  it  should 
befall  us  as  it  did  to  Pharaoh  king  of 
Egypt  and  his  subjects,  and  that  we 
may  not  die  ;  and  Abiinclech  has- 
tened and  called  and  had  Sarah  called 
for,  and  she  came  bclbrc  him,  and 
he  had  Abraham  called  for,  and  he 
came  before  him. 

24.  And  Abimelech  said  to  them, 
w^hat  is  this  work  you  have  been  do- 
ing in  saying  you  arc  brother  and 
sister,  and  1  look  this  woman  for  a 
wife  ? 

25.  And  Abraham  said,  because 
I  thought  I  should  suffer  death  on 
account  of  my  wife  ;  and  Abimelech 
took  flocks  and  herds,  and  men  ser- 
vants and  maid  servants,  and  a  thou- 
sand pieces  of  silver,  and  he  gave 
them  to  Abraham,  and  he  returned 
Sarah  to  him. 

26.  And  Abimelech  said  to  Abra- 
ham, behold  the  whole  land  is  before 
thee,  dwell  in  it  wherever  thou  shalt 
choose. 

27.  And  Abraham  and  Sarah  his 
wife  went  forth  from  the  king's 
presence  with  honor  and  respect, 
and  they  dwelt  in  the  land,  even  in 
Gerar. 

28.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land  of  the  Philistines  and  the  king's 
servants  were  still  in  pain,  through 
the  plague  which  the  angel  had  in- 
flicted upon  them  the  whole  night  on 
account  of  Sarah. 

29.  And  Abimelech  sent  for  Abra- 
ham, saying,  pray  now  for  thy  ser- 
vants to  the  Lord  thy  God,  that  he 
may  put  awa)''  this  mortality  from 
amongst  us. 

30.  And  Abraham  prayed  on  ac- 
count of  Abimelech  and  his  subjects, 


and  the  Lord  heard  the  prayer  of 
Abraham,  and  he  healed  Abimelech 
and  all  his  subjects. 

CHAPTER  XXL 

\.  And  it  was  at  that  time  at  the 
end  of  a  year  and  four  months  of 
Abraham's  dwelling  in  the  land  of 
the  Philistines  in  Gerar,  that  God 
visited  Sarah,  and  the  Lord  remem- 
bered her,  and  she  conceived  and 
bare  a  son  to  Abraham. 

2.  And  Abraham  called  the  name 
of  the  son  which  was  born  to  him, 
which  Sarah  bare  to  him,  Isaac. 

3.  And  Abraham  circumcised  his 
son  Isaac  at  eight  days  old,  as  God 
had  commanded  Abraham  to  do 
unto  his  seed  after  him  ;  and  Abra- 
ham was  one  hundred,  and  Sarah 
ninety  years  old,  when  Isaac  was 
born  to  "them. 

4.  And  the  child  grew  up  and  he 
was  weaned,  and  Abraham  made  a 
great  feast  upon  the  day  that  Isaac 
was  weaned. 

5.  And  Shem  and  Eber  and  all 
the  great  people  of  the  land,  and  Abi- 
melech king  of  the  Philistines,  and 
his  servants,  and  Phicol  the  captain 
of  his  host,  came  to  eat  and  drink 
and  rejoice  at  the  feast  which  Abra- 
ham made  upon  the  day  of  his  son 
Isaac's  being  weaned. 

6.  Also  Terah,  the  father  of  Abra- 
ham, and  Nahor  his  brother,  came 
from  Haran,  they  and  all  belonging 
to  them,  for  they  greatly  rejoiced  on 
hearing  that  a  son  had  been  born  to 
Sarah. 

7.  And  they  came  to  Abraham, 
and  they  ate  and  drank  at  the  feast 
which  Abraham  made  upon  the  day 
of  Isaac's  being  weaned. 

8.  And  Terah  and  Nahor  rejoiced 
with  Abraham,  and  they  remained 


58 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


with  him  many  days  in  the  land  of 
the  PhiUstines. 

9.  At  that  time  Serug  the  son  of 
Reu  died,  in  the  first  year  of  the  birth 
of  Isaac  son  of  Abraham. 

10.  And  all  the  days  of  Serug  were 
two  hundred  and  thirty-nine  years, 
and  he  died. 

11.  And  Ishmael  the  son  of  Abra- 
ham was  grown  up  in  those  days  ; 
he  was  fourteen  years  old  when  Sa- 
rah bare  Isaac  to  Abraham. 

12.  And  God  was  with  Ishmael  the 
son  of  Abraham,  and  he  grew  up  and 
he  learned  the  use  of  the  bow  and 
became  an  archer. 

13.  And  when  Isaac  was  five  years 
old  he  was  sitting  with  Ishmael  at 
the  door  of  the  tent. 

14.  And  Ishmael  came  to  Isaac 
and  seated  himself  opposite  to  him, 
and  he  took  the  bow  and  drew  it  and 
put  the  arrow  in  it,  and  intended  to 
slay  Isaac. 

15.  And  Sarah  saw  the  act  which 
Ishmael  desired  to  do  to  her  son 
Isaac,  and  it  grieved  her  exceedingly 
on  accoimt  of  her  son,  and  she  sent 
for  Abraham  and  said  to  him,  cast 
out  this  bondwoman  and  her  son,  for 
her  son  shall  not  be  heir  with  my 
son,  for  thus  did  he  seek  to  do  unto 
him  this  day. 

16.  And  Abraham  hearkened  to 
the  voice  of  Sarah,  and  he  rose  up 
early  in  the  morning,  and  he  took 
twelve  loaves  and  a  bottle  of  water 
which  he  gave  to  Hagar,  and  sent 
her  away  with  her  son,  and  Hagar 
went  with  her  son  to  the  wilderness, 
and  they  dwelt  in  the  wilderness  of 
Paran  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  wil- 
derness, and  Ishmael  was  an  archer, 
and  he  dwelt  in  the  wilderness  a  long 
time. 

17.  And  he  and  his  mother  after- 
ward went  to  the  land  of  Egypt,  and 


they  dwelt  there,  and  Hagar  took  a 
wife  for  her  son  from  Egypt,  and  her 
name  was  Meribah. 

1 8.  And  the  wife  of  Ishmael  con 
ceived  and  bare  four  sons  and  twc 
daughters,  and  Ishmael  and  his  mo 

I  ther  and  his  wife  and  children  after 
I  ward  went  and  returned  to  the  wil- 
derness. 

19.  And  they  made  themselves 
tents  in  the  wilderness,  in  which  they 
dwelt,  and  they  continued  to  travel 
and  then  to  rest  monthly  and  yearly. 

20.  And  God  gave  Ishmael  flocks 
and  herds  and  tents  on  account  of 
Abraham  his  father,  and  the  man  in- 
creased in  cattle. 

21.  And  Ishmael  dwelt  in  deserts 
and  in  tents,  travelling  and  resting 
for  a  long  time,  and  he  did  not  see 
the  face  of  his  father. 

22.  And  in  some  time  after,  Abra- 
ham said  to  Sarah  his  wife,  I  will 
go  and  see  my  son  Ishmael,  for  I 
have  a  desire  to  see  him,  for  I  have 
not  seen  him  for  a  long  time. 

23.  And  Abraham  rode  upon  one 
of  his  camels  to  the  wilderness  to 
seek  his  son  Ishmael,  for  he  heard 
that  he  was  dwelling  in  a  tent  in  the 
wilderness  with  all  belonffin^  to  him. 

24.  And  Abraham  went  to  the 
wilderness,  and  he  reached  the  tent 
of  Ishmael  about  noon,  and  he  asked 
after  Ishmael,  and  he  found  the  wife 
of  Ishmael  sitting  in  the  tent  with  her 
children,  and  Ishmael  her  husband 
and  his  mother  were  not  with  them. 

25.  And  Abraham  asked  the  wife 
of  Ishmael,  saying,  where  has  Ish- 
mael gone  ?  and  she  said,  he  has 
gone  to  the  field  to  hunt,  and  Abra- 
ham was  still  mounted  upon  the 
camel,  for  he  would  not  get  off  ta 
the  ground  as  he  had  sworn  to  his 
wife  Sarah  that  he  would  not  get  ofT 
from  the  camel. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


59 


26.  And  Abraham  said  to  Ish- 
mael's  wife,  my  daughter  give  me  a 
little  water  that  I  may  drink,  for  I 
am  fatigued  from  the  journey. 

27.  And  IshmacFs  wife  answered 
and  said  to  Abraham,  we  have 
neither  water  nor  bread,  and  siie 
continued  sitting  in  the  tent  and  did 
not  notice  Abraham,  neither  did  she 
ask  him  who  he  was. 

28.  But  she  was  beating  her  chil- 
dren in  the  tent,  and  she  was  curs- 
ing them,  and  she  also  cursed  her 
husband  Ishmael  and  reproached 
him,  and  Abraham  heard  the  words 
of  fshmael's  wife  to  her  children, 
and  he  was  very  angry  and  dis- 
pleased, 

29.  And  Abraham  called  to  the 
woman  to  come  out  to  him  from  the 
lent,  and  the  woman  came  and  stood 
opposite  to  Abraham,  for  Abraham 
was  still  mounted  upon  the  camel. 

30.  And  Abraham  said  to  Ish- 
mael's  wife,  when  thy  husband  Ish- 
mael returneth  home  say  these  words 
to  him. 

31.  A  very  old  mgn  from  the  land 
of  the  Philistines  came  hither  to 
seek  thee,  and  thus  was  his  appear- 
ance and  figure  ;  I  did  not  ask  him 
w^ho  he  was,  and  seeing  thou  wast 
not  here  he  spoke  unto  me  and  said, 
when  Ishmael  they  husband  return- 
eth tell  him  thus  did  this  man  say, 
when  thou  comest  home  put  away 
this  nail  of  the  tent  which  thou  hast 
placed  here,  and  place  another  nail 
in  its  stead. 

32.  And  Abraham  finished  his  in- 
structions to  the  woman,  and  he 
turned  and  went  off  on  the  camel 
homeward. 

33.  And  after  that  Ishmael  come 
from  the  chase,  he  and  his  mother, 
and  returned  to  the  tent,  and  his 
wife  spoke  these  words  to  him. 


34.  A  very  old  man  from  the  land 
of  the  Philistines  came  to  seek  thee, 
and  thus  was  his  appearance  and 
figure  ;  I  did  not  ask  him  who  he 
was,  and  seeing  thou  wast  not  at 
home  he  said  to  me,  when  they  hus- 
band Cometh  home  tell  him,  thus 
saith  the  old  man,  put  away  the  nail 
of  the  tent  which  thou  hast  placed 
here  and  place  another  nail  in  its 
stead. 

35.  And  Ishmael  heard  the  words 
of  his  wife,  and  he  knew  that  it  was 
his  father,  and  that  his  wife  did  not 
honor  him. 

36.  And  Ishmael  understood  his 
father's  words  that  he  had  spoken  to 
his  wife,  and  Ishmael  hearkened  to 
the  voice  of  his  father,  and  Islnnael 
cast  off  that  woman  and  she  went 
away. 

37.  And  Ishmael  afterward  went 
to  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  he  took 
another  wife  and  he  brought  her  to 
his  tent  to  the  place  where  he  then 
dwelt. 

38.  And  at  the  end  of  three  years 
Abraham  said,  I  will  go  again  and 
see  Ishmael  my  son,  for  I  have  not 
seen  him  for  a  long  time. 

39.  And  he  rode  upon  his  camel 
and  went  to  the  wilderness,  and  he 
reached  the  tent  of  Ishmael  about 
noon. 

40.  And  he  asked  after  Ishmael, 
and  his  wife  came  out  of  the  tent 
and  she  said,  he  is  not  here  my  lord, 
for  he  has  gone  to  hunt  in  the  fields, 
and  to  feed  the  camels,  and  the 
woman  said  to  Abraham,  turn  in  my 
lord  into  the  tent  and  eat  a  morsel  of 
bread,  for  thy  soul  must  be  wearied 
on  account  of  the  journey. 

41.  And  Abraham  said  to  her,  I 
will  not  stop  for  I  am  in  haste  to 
continue  my  journey,  but  give  me  a 
little   water    to   drink,   for    I   have 


€0 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


thirst ;  and  the  woman  hastened  and 
ran  into  the  tent  and  she  brought  out 
water  and  bread  to  Abraham,  which 
she  placed  before  him  and  she  urged 
him  to  eat,  and  he  ate  and  drank 
and  his  heart  was  comforted  and  he 
blessed  his  son  Ishmael. 

42.  And  he  finished  his  meal  and 
he  blessed  the  Lord,  and  he  said  to 
Ishmael's  wife,  when  Ishmael  cometh 
home  say  these  words  to  Jiim ; 

43.  A  very  old  man  from  the  land 
of  the  Philistines  came  hither  and 
asked  after  thee,  and  thou  wast  not 
here,  and  I  brought  him  out  bread 
and  water  and  he  ate  and  drank  and 
his  heart  was  comforted. 

44.  And  he  spoke  these  words  to 
me  ;  when  Ishmael  thy  husband 
cometh  home,  say  unto  him,  the  nail 
of  the  tent  which  thou  hast  is  very 
good,  do  not  put  it  away  from  the 
tent. 

45.  And  Abraham  finished  com- 
manding the  woman,  and  he  rode  off 
to  his  home  to  the  land  of  the  Phil- 
istines ;  and  when  Ishmael  came 
to  his  tent  his  wife  went  forth  to 
meet  him  with  joy  and  a  cheerful 
heart. 

46.  And  she  said  to  him,  an  old 
man  came  here  from  the  land  of  the 
Philistines  and  thus  was  his  appear- 
ance, and  he  asked  after  thee  and 
thou  wast  not  here,  so  I  brought  out 
bread  and  water,  and  he  ate  and 
drank  and  his  heart  was  comforted. 

47.  And  he  spoke  these  words  to 
me ;  when  Ishmael  thy  husband 
cometh  home  say  to  him,  the  nail  of 
the  tent  which  thou  hast  is  very 
good,  do  not  put  it  away  from  the 
tent. 

48.  And  Ishmael  knew  that  it  was 
his  father,  and  that  his  wife  had 
honored  him,  and  the  Lord  blessed 
Ishmael. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

1.  And  Ishmael  then  rose  up  and 
took  his  wife  and  his  children  and 
his  cattle  and  all  belonging  to  him, 
and  he  journeyed  from  there  and  he 
went  to  his  father  in  the  land  of  the 
Philistines. 

2.  And  Abraham  related  to  Ish- 
mael his  son  the  transaction  with  the 
first  wife  that  Ishmael  took,  accord- 
ing to  what  she  did. 

3.  And  Ishmael  and  his  children 
dwelt  with  Abraham  many  days  in 
tJiot  land,  and  Abraham  dwelt  in  the 
land  of  the  Philistines  a  long  time. 

4.  And  the  days  increased  and 
reached  twenty  six  years,  and  after 
that  Abraham  with  his  servants  and 
all  belonging  to  him  went  from  the 
land  of  the  Philistines  and  removed 
to  a  great  distance,  and  they  came 
near  to  Hebron,  and  they  remained 
there,  and  the  servants  of  Abraham 
dug  wells  of  water,  and  Abraham 
and  all  belonging  to  him  dwelt  by 
the  water,  and  the  servants  of  Abi- 
melech  king  of  the  Philistines  heard 
the  report  that  Abraham's  servants 
had  dug  wells  of  water  in  the  bor- 
ders of  the  land. 

5.  And  they  came  and  quarreled 
with  the  servants  of  Abraham,  and 
they  robbed  them  of  the  great  well 
which  they  had  dug. 

6.  And  Abimelech  king  of  the 
Philistines  heard  of  this  affair,  and 
he  with  Phicol  the  captain  of  his 
host  and  twenty  of  his  men  came  to 
Abraham,  and  Abimelech  spoke  to 
Abraham  concerning  his  servants, 
and  Abraham  rebuked  Abimelech 
concerning  the  well  of  which  his 
servants  had  robbed  him. 

7.  And  Abimelech  said  to  Abra- 
ham, as  the  Lord  liveth  who  created 
the  whole  earth  I  did  not  hear  of  the 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


61 


act  which  my  servants  did  unto  thy 
servants  until  this  day. 

8.  And  Abraham  took  seven  ewe 
lambs  and  gave  them  to  Abimelech, 
saying,  take  these  I  pray  thee  from 
my  hands  that  it  may  be  a  testimony 
for  me  that  I  dug  this  well. 

9.  And  Abimelech  took  the  seven 
ewe  lambs  which  Abraham  had 
given  to  him,  for  he  had  also  given 
him  cattle  and  herds  in  abundance, 
and  Abimelech  swore  to  Abraham 
concerning  the  well,  therefore  he 
called  that  well  Becrsheba,  for  there 
they  both  swore  concerning  it. 

10.  And  they  both  made  a  co- 
venant in  Becrsheba,  and  Abime- 
lech rose  up  with  Phicol  the  cap- 
tain of  his  host  and  all  his  men, 
and  they  returned  to  the  land  of 
the  Philistines,  and  Abraham  and 
all  belonging  to  him  dwelt  in  Becr- 
sheba and  he  was  in  that  land  a  long 
time. 

1 1 .  And  Abraham  planted  a  large 
grove  in  Beersheba,  and  he  made  to 
it  four  gates  facing  the  four  sides  of 
the  earth,  and  he  planted  a  vineyard 
in  it,  so  that  if  a  traveller  came  to 
Abraham  he  entered  any  gate  which 
was  in  his  road,  and  remained  there 
and  ate  and  drank  and  satisfied  him- 
self and  then  departed. 

12  For  the  house  of  Abraham  was 
always  open  to  the  sons  of  men  that 
passed  and  repassed,  who  came 
daily  to  eat  and  drink  in  the  house 
of  Abraham. 

1.3.  And  any  man  who  had  hunger 
and  came  to  Abraham's  house,  Abra- 
ham would  give  him  bread  tiiat  he 
might  eat  and  drink  and  be  satisfied, 
and  any  one  that  came  naked  to  his 
house  he  would  clothe  with  garments 
as  he  might  choose,  and  give  him 
silver  and  gold  and  make  known  to 
him  the  Lord  who  had  created  him 


in  the  earth  ;  this  did  Abraham  all 
his  life.* 

14.  And  Abraham  and  his  children 
and  all  belonging  to  him  dwelt  in 
Beersheba,  and  he  pitched  his  tent 
as  far  as  Hebron. 

15.  And  Abraham's  brother  Na- 
hor  and  his  father  and  all  belonging 
to  them  dwelt  in  Haran,  for  they  did 
not  come  with  Abraham  to  the  land 
of  Canaan. 

16.  And  children  were  born  to 
Nahor  which  Milca  the  daughter  of 
Haran,  and  sister  to  Sarah,  Abra- 
ham's wife,  bare  to  him. 

17.  And  these  are  the  names  of 
those  that  were  born  to  him,  Uz, 
Buz,  Kemuel,  Kesed,  Chazo,  Pil- 
dash,  Tidlaf,  and  Bcthuel,  being 
eight  sons,  these  are  the  children  of 
Milca  which  she  bare  to  Nahor 
Abraham's  brother. 

18.  And  Nahor  had  a  concubine 
and  her  name  was  Reumah,  and  she 
also  bare  to  Nahor,  Zebach,  Ga- 
chash,  Tachash  and  Maacha,  being 
four  sons. 

19.  And  the  children  that  were 
born  to  Nahor  were  twelve  sons  be- 
sides his  daughters,  and  they  also  had 
children  born  to  them  in  Haran. 

20.  And  the  children  of  Uz  the 
first  born  of  Nahor  were  Abi,  Che- 
ref,  Gadin,  Mclus,  and  Deborah 
their  sister. 

21.  And  the  sons  of  Buz  were 
Berachel,  Naamalh,  Sheva  and  Ma- 
donu. 

22.  And  the  sons  of  Kemuel  were 
Aram  and  Rechob. 

23.  And  the  sons  of  Kesed  were 
Anamlech,  Meshai,  Benon  and  Yifi ; 
and  the  sons  of  Chazo  were  Pildash, 
Mechi  and  Opher. 

24.  And  the  sons  of  Pildash  were 
Arud,  Chamum,  Mered  and  Molocli. 

*  Hebrew,  all  the  clays. 


62 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


25.  And  the  sons  of  Yidlaf  were 
Mushan,  Cushan  and  Mulzi. 

26.  And  the  children  of  Bethuel 
were  Sechar,  Laban  and  their  sister 
Rebecca. 

27.  These  are  the  famihes  of  the 
children  of  Nahor,  that  were  born  to 
them  in  Haran ;  and  Aram  the  son 
of  Kemuel  and  Rechob  his  brother 
went  away  from  Haran,  and  they 
found  a  valley  in  the  land  by  the 
river  Euphrates. 

28.  And  they  built  a  city  there, 
and  they  called  the  name  of  the  city 
after  the  name  of  Pethor  the  son  of 
Aram,  that  is  Aram  Naherayim*  un- 
to this  day. 

29.  And  the  children  of  Kesed 
also  went  to  dwell  where  they  could 
find  a  'place,  and  they  went  and  they 
found  a  valley  opposite  to  the  land 
of  Shinar,  and  they  dwelt  there. 

30.  And  they  there  built  them- 
selves a  city,  and  they  called  the 
name  of  the  city  Kesed  after  the 
name  of  their  father,  that  is  the  land 
Kasdimt  unto  this  day,  and  the  Kas- 
dim  dwelt  in  that  land  and  they 
were  fruitful  and  multiphed  exceed- 
ingly 

31.  And  Terah  father  of  Nahor 
and  Abraham  went  and  took  another 
wife  in  his  old  age,  and  her  name 
was  Pelilah,  and  she  conceived  and 
bare  him  a  son  and  he  called  his 
name  Zoba. 

32.  And  Terah  lived  twenty  five 
years  after  he  begat  Zoba. 

33.  And  Terah  died  in  that  year, 
that  is  in  the  thirty  fifth  year  of  the 
birth  of  Isaac  son  of  Abraham. 

34.  And  the  days  of  Terah  were 
two  hundred  and  five  years,  and  he 
was  buried  in  Haran. 

35.  And  Zoba  the  son  of  Terah 

*  Mesopotamia. 
t  Chaldea. 


lived  thirty  years  and  he  begat  Aram, 
Achlis  and  Merik. 

36.  And  Aram  son  of  Zoba  son 
of  Terah,  had  three  wives  and  he 
begat  twelve  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters ;  and  the  Lord  gave  to  Aram 
the  son  of  Zoba,  riches  and  posses- 
sions, and  abundance  of  cattle,  and 
flocks  and  herds,  and  the  m.an  in- 
creased greatly. 

37.  And  Aram  the  son  of  Zoba 
and  his  brother  and  all  his  house- 
hold journeyed  from  Haran,  and  they 
went  to  dwell  where  they  should 
find  a  place,  for  their  property  was 
too  great  to  remain  in  Haran  ;  for 
they  could  not  slop  in  Haran  to- 
gether with  their  brethren  the  child- 
ren of  Nahor. 

38.  And  Aram  the  son  of  Zoba 
went  with  his  brethren,  and  they 
found  a  valley  at  a  distance  toward 
the  eastern  country  and  they  dwelt 
there. 

39.  And  they  also  built  a  city 
there,  and  they  called  the  name 
thereof  Aram,  after  the  name  of  their 
eldest  brother;  that  is  Aram  Zoba 
to  this  day. 

40.  And  Isaac  the  son  of  Abra- 
ham was  growing  up  in  those  days, 
and  Abraham  his  father  taught  him 
the  way  of  the  Lord  to  know  the 
Lord,  and  the  Lord  was  with  him. 

41.  And  when  Isaac  was  thirty 
seven  years  old,  Ishmael  his  brother 
was  going  about  with  him  in  the 
tent. 

42.  And  Ishmael  boasted  of  him- 
self to  Isaac,  saying,  I  was  thirteen 
years  old  when  the  Lord  spoke  to 
my  father  to  circumcise  us,  and  I  did 
according  to  the  word  of  the  Lord 
which  he  spoke  to  my  father,  and  T 
gave  my  soul  unto  the  Lord,  and  I 
did  not  transgress  his  word  whick 
he  commanded  my  father. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


63 


43.  And  Isaac  answered  Ishmael, 
saying,  why  dost  thou  boast  to  me 
about  this,  about  a  htlle  bit  of  thy 
flesh  which  thou  didst  take  from  thy 
body,  concerning  which  the  Lord 
commanded  thee  ? 

44.  As  the  Lord  hveth,  the  God 
of  my  father  Abraham,  if  the  Lord 
should  say  unto  my  father,  take  now 
thy  son  Isaac  and  bring  liim  up  an 
ofl'ering  before  me,  I  woukl  not  re- 
frain but  I  would  joyfully  accede  to 
it. 

45.  And  the  Lord  heard  the  word 
that  Isaac  spoke  to  Ishmael,  and  it 
seemed  good  in  tiie  sight  of  the  Lord, 
and  he  thought  to  try  Abraham  in  this 
matter. 

46.  And  the  day  arrived  when  the 
sons  of  God  came  and  placed  them- 
selves before  the  Lord,  and  Satan  also 
came  with  the  sons  of  God  before 
the  Lord. 

47.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Satan, 
whence  comest  thou  ?  and  Satan  an- 
swered the  Lord  and  said,  from  go- 
ing to  and  fro  in  the  earth,  and  from 
walking  up  and  down  in  it. 

48.  And  the  Lord  said  to  Satan, 
what  is  thy  word  to  me  concerning 
all  the  children  of  the  earth  ?  and 
Satan  answered  the  Lord  and  said, 
I  have  seen  all  the  children  of  the 
earth  who  serve  thee  and  remember 
thee  when  they  require  anything  from 
thee. 

49.  And  when  thou  givest  them 
the  thing  which  they  require  from 
thee,  they  sit  at  their  ease,  and  for- 
sake thee  and  they  remember  thee 
no  more. 

50.  Hast  thou  seen  Abraham  the 
son  of  Terah,  who  at  first  had  no 
children,  and  he  served  thee  and 
erected  altars  to  thee  wherever  he 
came,  and  he  brought  up  offerings 
upon  them,  and  he  proclaimed  thy 


name  continually  to  all  the  children 
of  the  earth. 

5L  And  now  that  his  son  Isaac  is 
born  to  him,  he  has  forsaken  thee, 
he  has  made  a  great  feast  for  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  land,  and  the  Lord 
he  has  forgotten. 

52.  For  amidst  all  that  he  has  done 
he  brought  thee  no  offering  ;  neither 
burnt  offering  nor  peace  otfering,  nei- 
ther ox,  lamb  nor  goat  of  all  that  he 
killed  on  the  day  that  his  son  was 
weaned. 

53.  Even  from  the  time  of  his 
son's  birth  till  now,  being  thirty-seven 
years,  he  built  no  altar  before  thee, 
nor  brought  up  any  offering  to  thee, 
for  he  saw  that  thou  didst  give  what 
he  requested  before  thee,  and  he 
therefore  forsook  thee. 

54.  And  the  Lord  said  to  Satan, 
hast  thou  thus  considered  my  servant 
Abraham  ?  for  there  is  none  like  him 
upon  earth,  a  perfect  and  an  upright 
man  before  me,  one  that  feareth  God 
and  avoideth  evil ;  as  I  live,  were  I 
to  say  unto  him,  bring  up  Isaac  thy 
son  before  me,  he  would  not  withhold 
him  from  me,  much  more  if  I  told 
him  to  bring  up  a  burnt  offering  be- 
fore me  from  his  flocks  or  herds. 

55.  And  Satan  answered  the  Lord 
and  said,  speak  then  now  unto  Abra- 
ham as  thou  hast  said,  and  thou  wilt 
see  whether  he  will  not  this  day  trans- 
gress and  cast  aside  thy  words. 

CHAPTER  XXHL 

1 .  At  that  time  the  word  of  the 
Lord  came  to  Abraham,  and  he  said 
unto  him,  Abraham,  and  he  said  here 
I  am. 

2.  And  he  said  to  him,  take  now 
thy  son,  thine  only  son  whom  thou 
lovest,  even  Isaac,  and  go  to  the  land 
of  Moriah,  and  offer  him  there  for  a 


64 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


burnt  offering  upon  one  of  the  moun- 
tains which  shall  be  shown  to  thee, 
for  there  wilt  thou  see  a  cloud  and 
the  glory  of  the  Lord. 

3.  And  Abraham  said  within  him- 
self, how  shall  I  separate  my  son 
Isaac  from  Sarah  his  mother,  in  order 
to  bring  him  up  for  a  burnt  offering 
before  the  Lord  ? 

4.  And  Abraham  came  into  the 
tent,  and  he  sat  before  Sarah  his 
wife,  and  he  spoke  these  words  to 
her. 

5.  My  son  Isaac  is  grown  up  and 
he  has  not  for  some  time  studied  the 
service  of  his  God,  now  to-morrow  I 
will  go  and  bring  him  to  Shem,  and 
Eber  his  son,  and  there  he  will  learn 
the  ways  of  the  Lord,  for  they  will 
teach  him  to  know  the  Lord  as  well 
as  to  know  that  when  he  prayeth 
continually  before  the  Lord,  he  will 
answer  him,  therefore  there  he  will 
know  the  way  of  serving  the  Lord 
his  God. 

6.  And  Sarah  said,  thou  hast  spo- 
ken well,  go  my  lord  and  do  unto  him 
as  thou  hast  said,  but  remove  him 
not  at  a  great  distance  from  me,  nei- 
ther let  him  remain  there  too  long, 
for  my  soul  is  bound  within  his  soul. 

7.  And  Abraham  said  unto  Sarah, 
my  daughter,  let  us  pray  to  the  Lord 
our  God  that  he  may  do  good  with 
us. 

8.  And  Sarah  took  her  son  Isaac 
and  he  abided  all  that  night  with  her, 
and  she  kissed  and  embraced  him, 
and  gave  him  instructions  till  morn- 
ing. 

9.  And  she  said  to  him,  O  my  son 
how  can  my  soul  separate  itself  from 
thee  ?  And  she  still  kissed  him  and 
embraced  him,  and  she  gave  Abra- 
ham instructions  concerning  him. 

10.  And  Sarah  said  to  Abraham, 
0  my  lord,  I  pray  thee  take  heed  of 


thy  son,  and  place  thine  eyes  over 
him,  for  I  have  no  other  son  nor 
daughter  but  him. 

IL  O  forsake  him  not.  If  he  be 
hungry  give  him  bread,  and  if  he  be 
thirsty  give  him  water  to  drink  ;  do 
not  let  him  go  on  foot,  neither  let 
him  sit  in  the  sun. 

12.  Neither  let  him  go  by  himself 
in  the  road,  neither  force  him  from 
whatever  he  may  desire,  but  do  unto 
him  as  he  may  say  to  thee. 

13.  And  Sarah  wept  bitterly  the 
whole  night  on  account  of  Isaac,  and 
she  gave  him  instructions  till  morn- 
ing. 

14.  And  in  the  morning  Sarah  se- 
lected a  very  fine  and  beautiful  gar- 
ment from  those  garments  which  she 
had  in  the  house,  that  Abimelech  had 
given  to  her. 

1 5.  And  she  dressed  Isaac  her  son 
therewith,  and  she  put  a  turban  upon 
his  head,  and  she  enclosed  a  precious 
stone  in  the  top  of  the  turban,  and 
she  gave  them  provision  for  the  road^ 
and  they  went  forth,  and  Isaac  went 
with  his  father  Abraham,  and  some 
of  their  servants  accompanied  them 
to  see  them  off  the  road. 

16.  And  Sarah  Went  out  with 
them,  and  she  accompanied  them 
upon  the  road  to  see  them  off,  and 
they  said  to  her,  return  to  the  tent. 

17.  And  when  Sarah  heard  the 
words  of  her  son  Isaac  she  wept 
bitterly,  and  Abraham  her  husband 
wept  with  her,  and  their  son  wept 
with  them  a  great  weeping;  also  those 
who  went  with  them  wept  greatly. 

18.  And  Sarah  caught  hold  of  her 
son  Isaac,  and  she  held  him  in  her 
arms,  and  she  embraced  him  and 
continued  to  weep  with  him,  and 
Sarah  said,  who  knoweth  if  after 
this  day  I  shall  ever  see  thee  again  T 

19.  "And  they  still  wept  together. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


65 


Abraham,  Sarah  and  Isaac  and  all 
those  that  accompanied  them  on  the 
road  wept  with  them,  and  JSarah 
afterward  turned  away  from  her  son, 
weeping  bitterly,  and  all  her  men 
servants  and  maid  servants  returned 
with  her  to  the  tent, 

20.  And  Abraham  went  with 
Isaac  his  son  to  bring  him  up  as  an 
oflfering  before  the  Lord,  as  he  had 
commanded  him. 

21.  And  Abraham  took  two  of 
his  young  men  with  him,  Ishmael 
the  son  of  Hagar  and  Eliezer  his 
servant,  and  they  went  together  with 
them,  and  whilst  they  were  walking 
in  the  road  the  young  men  spoke 
these  words  to  themselves. 

22.  And  Ishmael  said  to  Eliezer, 
now  my  father  Abraham  is  going 
with  Isaac  to  bring  him  up  for  a 
burnt  offering  to  the  Lord,  as  he 
commanded  him. 

23.  Now  when  he  returncth  he 
will  give  unto  me  all  that  he  pos- 
sesses, to  inherit  after  him,  for  I  am 
his  first  born. 

24.  And  Eliezer  answered  Ish- 
mael and  said,  surely  Abraham  did 
cast  thee  away  with  thy  mother, 
and  swear  that  thou  shouldst  not  in- 
herit any  thing  of  all  he  possesses, 
and  to  whom  will  he  give  all  that  he 
has,  with  all  his  treasures,  but  unto 
me  his  servant,  who  has  been  faith- 
ful in  his  house,  who  has  served 
him  night  and  day,  and  has  done 
all  that  he  desired  me  ?  to  me  will 
he  bequeath  at  his  death  all  that  he 
possesses. 

25.  And  whilst  Abraham  was  pro- 
ceeding with  his  son  Isaac  along  the 
road,  Satan  came  and  appeared  to 
Abraham  in  the  figure  of  a  very  aged 
man,  humble  and  of  contrite  spirit, 
and  he  approached  Abraham  and 
said  to  him,  art  thou  silly  or  brutish, 

5 


that  thou  goest  to  do  this  thing  this 
day  to  thine  only  son  ? 

26.  For  God  gave  thee  a  son  in 
thy  latter  days,  in  tiiy  old  age,  and 
wilt  thou  go  and  slaughter  him  this 
day  because  he  committed  no  vio- 
lence, and  wilt  thou  cause  the  soul 
of  thine  only  son  to  perish  from  the 
earth  ? 

27.  Dost  thou  not  know  and  un- 
derstand that  this  thing  cannot  be 
from  the  Lord  ?  for  the  Lord  cannot 
do  unto  man  such  evil  upon  earth  to 
say  to  him,  go   slaughter  thy  child. 

28.  And  Abraham  heard  this  and 
knew  that  it  was  the  word  of  Satan 
who  endeavored  to  draw  him  aside 
from  the  way  of  the  Lord,  but 
Abraham  would  not  hearken  to  the 
voice  of  Satan,  and  Abraham  rebu- 
ked him  so  that  he  went  away. 

29.  And  Satan  returned  and  came 
to  Isaac  ;  and  he  appeared  unto  Isaac 
in  the  figure  of  a  young  man,  comely 
and  well  favoured. 

30.  And  he  approached  Isaac  and 
said  unto  him,  dost  thou  not  know 
and  understand  that  tiiy  old  silly 
father  bringeth  thee  to  the  slaughter 
this  day  for  nought  ? 

3L  Now  therefore,  my  son,  do 
not  listen  nor  attend  to  him,  for  he 
is  a  silly  old  man,  and  let  not  thy 
precious  soul  and  beautiful  figure  be 
lost  from  the  earth. 

32.  And  Isaac  heard  this,  and 
said  unto  Abraham,  hast  thou  heard, 
my  father,  that  which  this  man  has 
spoken  ?  even  thus  has  he  spoken. 

33.  And  Abraham  answered  his 
son  Isaac  and  said  to  him,  take  heed 
of  him  and  do  not  listen  to  his  words, 
nor  attend  to  him,  for  he  is  Satan 
endeavoring  to  draw  us  aside  this 
day  from  the  commands  of  God. 

34.  And  Abraham  still  rebuked 
Satan,  and  Satan  went  from  them, 


66 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


and  seeing  he  could  not  prevail  over 
them  he  hid  himself  from  them,  and 
he  went  and  passed  before  them  in 
the  road ;  and  he  transformed  him- 
self to  a  large  brook  of  water  in  the 
road,  and  Abraham  and  Isaac  and 
his  two  young  men  reached  that 
place,  and  they  saw  a  brook  large  and 
powerful  as  the  mighty  waters. 

35.  And  they  entered  the  brook 
and  passed  through  it,  and  the 
waters  at  first  reached  their  legs. 

36.  And  they  went  deeper  in  the 
brook  and  the  waters  reached  up  to 
iheir  necks,  and  they  were  all  terri- 
fied on  account  of  the  water  ;  and 
whilst  they  were  going  over  the 
brook  Abraham  recognized  that 
place,  and  he  knew  that  there  was 
no  water  there  before. 

37.  And  Abraham  said  to  his  son 
Isaac,  I  know  this  place  in  which 
there  was  no  brook  nor  water,  now 
therefore  it  is  this  Satan  who  does 
all  this  to  us,  to  draw  us  aside  this 
day  from  the  commands  of  God. 

38.  And  Abraham  rebuked  him 
and  said  unto  him,  the  Lord  rebuke 
thee,  O  Satan,  begone  from  us  for 
we  go  by  the  commands  of  God. 

39.  And  Satan  was  terrified  at  the 
voice  of  Abraham,  and  he  went 
away  from  them,  and  the  place 
again  became  dry  land  as  it  was  at 
first. 

40.  And  Abraham  went  with 
Isaac  toward  the  place  that  God  had 
told  him. 

41.  And  on  the  third  day  Abra- 
ham lifted  up  his  eyes  and  saw  the 
place  at  a  distance  which  God  had 
told  him  of. 

42.  And  a  pillar  of  fire  appeared 
to  him  that  reached  from  the  earth 
to  heaven,  and  a  cloud  of  glory  up- 
on the  mountain,  and  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  was  seen  in  the  cloud. 


43.  And  Abraham  said  to  Isaac, 
my  son  dost  thou  see  in  that  moun- 
tain, which  we  perceive  at  a  distance, 
that  which  I  see  upon  it  ? 

44.  And  Isaac  answered  and  said 
unto  his  father,  I  see  and  lo  a  pillar 
of  fire  and  a  cloud,  and  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  is  seen  upon  the  cloud. 

45.  And  Abraham  knew  that  his 
son  Isaac  was  accepted  before  the 
Lord  for  a  burnt  offering. 

46.  And  Abraham  said  unto  Eli- 
ezer  and  unto  Ishmael  his  son,  do 
you  also  see  that  which  we  see  up- 
on the  mountain  which  is  at  a  dis- 
tance ? 

47.  And  they  answered  and  said, 
we  see  nothing  more  than  like  the 
other  mountains  of  the  earth.  And 
Abraham  knew  that  they  were  not 
accepted  before  the  Lord  to  go  with 
them,  and  Abraham  said  lo  them, 
abide  ye  here  with  the  ass  whilst  I 
and  Isaac  my  son  will  go  to  yonder 
mount  and  worship  there  before  the 
Lord  and  then  return  to  you. 

48.  And  Eliezer  and  Ishmael  re- 
mained in  that  place,  as  Abraham 
had  commanded. 

49.  And  Abraham  took  wood  for 
a  burnt  offering  and  placed  it  upon 
his  son  Isaac,  and  he  took  the  fire 
and  the  knife,  and  they  both  went  to 
that  place. 

50.  And  when  they  were  going 
along  Isaac  said  to  his  father,  be- 
hold, I  see  here  the  fire  and  wood, 
and  where  then  is  the  lamb  that  is 
to  he  the  burnt  offering  before  the 
Lord  ? 

5L  And  Abraham  answered  his 
son  Isaac,  saying,  the  Lord  has 
made  choice  of  thee  my  son,  to  be 
a  perfect  burnt  offering  instead  of 
the  lamb. 

52.  And  Isaac  said  unto  his  fath- 
er, I  will  do  all  that  the  Lord  spoke 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


67 


to  thee  with  joy  and  checrfuhiess  of 
heart. 

53.  And  Abraham  again  said  unto 
Isaac  his  son,  is  there  in  thy  heart 
any  thought  or  counsel  concerning 
this,  which  is  not  proper  ?  tell  me 
my  son,  I  pray  thee,  O  my  son  con- 
ceal it  not  from  me. 

54.  And  Isaac  answered  his  fath- 
er Abraham  and  said  unto  him,  O 
my  fatlier,  as  the  Lord  livcth  and  as 
thy  soul  liveth  there  is  nothing  in 
my  heart  to  cause  me  to  deviate 
either  to  the  right  or  to  the  left  from 
the  word  that  he  has  spoken  to 
thee. 

55.  Neither  limb  nor  muscle  has 
moved  or  stirred  at  this,  nor  is  there 
in  my  heart  any  thought  or  evil 
counsel  concerning  this. 

56.  But  I  am  of  joyful  and  cheer- 
ful heart  in  this  matter,  and  I  say, 
blessed  is  the  Lord  who  has  this 
day  chosen  me  to  be  a  burnt  offering 
before  him. 

57.  And  Abraham  greatly  rejoiced 
at  the  words  of  Isaac,  and  they  went 
on  and  came  together  to  that  place 
that  the  Lord  had  spoken  of. 

58.  And  Abraham  approached  to 
build  the  altar  in  that  place,  and 
Abraham  was  weeping,  and  Isaac 
took  stones  and  mortar  until  thev 
had  finished  building  the  altar. 

59.  And  Abraham  took  the  wood 
and  placed  it  in  order  upon  the  altar 
which  he  had  built. 

60.  And  he  took  his  son  Isaac  and 
bound  him  in  order  to  place  him 
upon  the  wood  which  was  upon  the 
altar,  to  slay  him  for  a  burnt  offering 
before  the  Lord. 

6 1 .  And  Isaac  said  to  his  father,  bind 
me  securely  and  then  place  me  upon 
the  altar  lest  I  should  turn  and  move, 
and  break  loose  from  the  force  of  the 
knife   upon   my   flesh    and    thereby 


profane    the    burnt    offering  j     and 
Abraham  did  so. 

62.  And  Isaac  still  said  to  his 
fatlier,  O  my  father,  when  thou  shalt 
have  slain  me  and  burnt  me  for  an 
offering,  lake  with  thee  that  which 
shall  remain  of  my  ashes  to  bring  to 
Sarah  my  mother,  and  say  to  her, 
this  is  the  sweet  smelling  savor  of 
Isaac  ;  but  do  not  tell  her  this  if  she 
should  sit  near  a  well  or  u])on  any 
high  place,  lest  she  should  cast  her 
soul  after  me  and  die. 

63.  And  Abraham  heard  the 
words  of  Isaac,  and  he  lifted  up  his 
voice  and  wept  when  Isaac  spake 
these  W'ords ;  and  Abrab.am's  tears 
gushed  down  upon  Isaac  his  son, 
and  Isaac  wept  bitterly,  and  he  said 
to  his  father,  hasten  tliou,  0  my 
father,  and  do  with  mc  the  will  of 
the  Lord  our  God  as  he  has  com- 
manded thee. 

64.  And  the  hearts  of  Abraham 
and  Isaac  rejoiced  at  this  thing  which 
the  Lord  had  commanded  them  ;  but 
the  eye  wept  bitterly  whilst  the  heart 
rejoiced. 

65.  And  Abraham  bound  liis  son 
Isaac,  and  placed  him  on  the  altar 
upon  the  wood,  and  Isaac  stretched 
forth  his  neck  upon  the  altar  before 
his  father,  and  Abraham  stretched 
forth  his  hand  to  take  the  knife  to 
slay  his  son  as  a  burnt  offering  be- 
fore the  Lord. 

66.  At  that  time  the  angels  of 
mercy  came  before  the  Lord  and 
spake  to  him  concerning  Isaac,  say- 
ing' 

67.  O  Lord,  thou  art  a  merciful 
and  compassionate  king  over  all  that 
thou  hast  created  in  heaven  and  in 
earth,  and  thou  supportest  them  all ; 
give  therefore  ransom  and  redemp- 
tion instead  of  thy  servant  Isaac,  and 
pity  and  have  compassion  upon  Abra- 


68 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


ham  and  upon  Isaac  his  son,  who 
are  this  day  performing  thy  com- 
mands, 

68.  Hast  thou  seen,  0  Lord,  how 
Isaac  the  son  of  Abraham  thy  ser- 
vant is  bound  down  to  the  slaughter 
like  an  animal  ?  now  therefore  let 
thy  pity  be  roused  for  them,  O  Lord. 

69.  At  that  time  the  Lord  appear- 
ed unto  Abraham,  and  called  to  him 
from  heaven,  and  said  unto  him,  lay 
not  thine  hand  upon  the  lad,  neither 
do  thou  any  thing  unto  him,  for  now 
I  know  that  thou  fearest  God  in  per- 
forming this  act,  and  in  not  withhold- 
ing  thy  son,  thine  only  son,  from  me. 

70.  And  Abraham  Hfted  up  his 
eyes  and  saw,  and  behold,  a  ram  was 
caught  in  a  thicket  by  his  horns  ;  that 
was  the  ram  which  the  Lord  God 
had  created  in  the  earth  in  the  day 
that  he  made  earth  and  heaven. 

7L  For  the  Lord  had  prepared 
this  ram  from  that  day,  to  be  a  burnt 
offering  instead  of  Isaac. 

72.  And  this  ram  was  advancing 
to  Abraham  when  Satan  caught  hold 
of  him  and  entangled  his  horns  in  the 
thicket,  that  he  might  not  advance  to 
Abraham,  in  order  that  Abraham 
might  slay  his  son. 

73.  And  Abraham,  seeing  the  ram 
advancmgto  him  and  Satan  withhold- 
ing him,  fetched  him  and  brought 
him  before  the  altar,  and  he  loosened 
his  son  Isaac  from  his  binding,  and 
he  put  the  ram  in  his  stead,  and 
Abraham  killed  the  ram  upon  the 
altar,  and  brought  it  up  as  an  offering 
in  the  place  of  his  son  Isaac. 

74.  And  Abraham  sprinkled  some 
of  the  blood  of  the  ram  upon  the  al- 
tar, and  he  exclaimed  and  said,  this 
is  in  the  place  of  my  son,  and  may 
this  be  considered  this  day  as  the 
blood  of  my  son  before  the  Lord. 

75.  And  all  that  Abraham  did  on 


this  occasion  by  the  altar,  he  would 
exclaim  and  say,  this  is  in  the  room 
of  my  son,  and  may  it  this  day  be 
considered  before  the  Lord  in  the 
place  of  my  son  ;  and  Abraham  fin- 
ished the  whole  of  the  service  by  the 
altar,  and  the  service  was  accepted 
before  the  Lord,  and  was  accounted 
as  if  it  had  been  Isaac  ;  and  the  Lord 
blessed  Abraham  and  his  seed  on 
that  day. 

76.  And  Satan  went  to  Sarah,  and 
he  appeared  to  her  in  the  figure  of 
an  old  man  very  humble  and  meek, 
and  Abraham  was  yet  engaged  in  the 
burnt  offering  before  the  Lord. 

77.  And  he  said  unto  her,  dost 
thou  not  know  all  the  work  that 
Abraham  has  made  with  thine  only 
son  this  day  ?  for  he  took  Isaac  and 
built  an  altar  and  killed  him,  and 
brought  him  up  as  a  sacrifice  upon 
the  altar,  and  Isaac  cried  and  wept 
before  his  father,  but  he  looked  not 
at  him,  neither  did  he  have  compas- 
sion over  him. 

78.  And  Satan  repeated  these 
words,  and  he  went  away  from  her, 
and  Sarah  heard  all  the  words  of 
Satan,  and  she  imagined  him  to  be 
an  old  man  from  amongst  the  sons  of 
men  who  had  been  with  her  son,  and 
had  come    and  told  her  these  things. 

79.  And  Sarah  lifted  up  her  voice 
and  wept  and  cried  out  bitterly  on 
accoimt  of  her  son ;  and  she  threw 
herself  upon  the  ground  and  she 
cast  dust  upon  her  head,  and  she 
said,  O  my  son,  Isaac  my  son,  O 
that  I  had  this  day  died  instead  of 
thee.  And  she  continued  to  weep 
and  said,  it  grieves  me  for  thee,  O 
my  son,  my  son  Isaac,  0  that  I  had 
died  this  day  in  thy  stead. 

80._  And  she  still  continued  to 
weep,'  and  said,  it  grieves  me  for 
thee  after  that  I  have  reared  thee  and 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


69 


have  brought  thee  up  ;  7iow  my  joy 
is  turned  into  mourning  over  thee,  1 
that  had  a  longing  for  thee,  and  cried 
and  prayed  to  God  till  I  bare  thee  at 
ninety  years  old  ;  and  now  hast  thou 
served  this  day  for  the  knife  and  the 
fire,  to  be  made  an  offering. 

81.  But  I  console  myself  with 
thee  my  son,  in  its  being  the  word 
of  the  Lord,  for  thou  didst  perform 
the  command  of  thy  God  :  for  who 
can  transgress  the  word  of  our  God, 
in  whose  hands  is  the  soul  of  every 
living  creature  ? 

82.  Thou  art  just  0  Lord  our  God, 
for  all  thy  works  are  good  and  righ- 
teous ;  for  I  also  am  rejoiced  with 
thy  word  which  thou  didst  command, 
and  whilst  mine  eye  weepeth  bitterly 
7}iy  heart  rcjoiceth. 

83.  And  Sarah  laid  her  head  upon 
the  bosom  of  one  of  her  handmaids, 
and  she  became  as  still  as  a  stone. 

84.  She  afterward  rose  up  and 
went  about  making  inquiries  till  she 
came  to  Hebron,  and  she  inquired 
of  all  those  whom  she  met  walking 
in  the  road,  and  no  one  could  tell  her 
what  had  happened  to  her  son. 

85.  And  she  came  with  her  maid 
servants  and  men  servants  to  Kireath 
Arba,  which  is  Hebron,  and  she 
asked  concerning  her  son,  and  she 
remained  there  whilst  she  sent  some 
of  her  servants  to  seek  where  Abra- 
ham had  gone  with  Isaac  ;  they  went 
to  seek  him  in  the  house  of  Shem 
and  Eber,  and  they  could  not  find 
him,  and  they  sought  throughout  the 
land  and  he  was  not  there. 

86.  x\nd  behold,  Satan  came  to 
Sarah  in  the  shape  of  an  old  man, 
and  he  came  and  stood  before  her, 
and  he  said  unto  her,  I  spoke  falselv 
unto  thee,  for  Abraham  did  not  kill 
his  son  and  he  is  not  dead ;  and 
when  she  heard  the  word  her  joy 


was  so  exceedingly  violent  on  ac- 
count of  her  son,  that  her  soul  went 
out  through  joy  ;  she  died  and  was 
gathered  to  her  people. 

87.  And  when  Abraham  had 
finished  his  service  he  returned  with 
his  son  Isaac  to  his  young  men,  and 
they  rose  up  and  went  together  to 
Beersheba,  and  they  came  home. 

88.  And  Abraham  sought  for  Sa- 
rah, and  could  not  find  her,  and  he 
made  inquiries  concerning  her,  and 
they  said  unto  him,  she  went  as  far 
as  Hebron  to  seek  you  both  where 
you  had  gone,  for  thus  was  she  in- 
formed. 

89.  And  Abraham  and  Isaac  went 
to  her  to  Hebron,  and  when  they 
found  that  she  was  dead  they  lifted 
up  their  voices  and  wept  bitterly  over 
her;  and  Isaac  fell  upon  his  mother's 
face  and  wept  over  her,  and  he  said, 
O  my  mother,  my  mother,  how  hast 
thou  left  me,  and  where  hast  thou 
gone  ?  0  how,  how  hast  thou  left 
me! 

90.  And  Abraham  and  Isaac  wept 
greatly  and  all  their  servants  wept 
with  them  on  account  of  Sarah,  and 
they  mourned  over  her  a  great  and 
heavy  mourning. 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

1.  And  the  life  of  Sarah  was  one 
hundred  and  twenty  seven  years, 
and  Sarah  died;  and  Abraham  rose 
up  from  before  his  dead  to  seek  a 
burial  place  to  bury  his  wife  Sarah ; 
and  he  went  and  spoke  to  the  child- 
ren of  Heth,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land,  saying, 

2.  I  am  a  stranger  and  a  sojourner 
with  you  in  your  land  ;  give  me  a 
possession  of  a  burial  place  in  your 
land,  that  I  may  bury  my  dead  from 
before  me. 


70 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


3.  And  the  children  of  Heth  said 
unto  Abraham,  behold  the  land  is 
before  thee,  in  the  choice  of  our  se- 
pulchres bury  thy  dead,  for  no  man 
shall  withhold  thee  from  burying 
thy  dead. 

4.  And  Abraham  said  unto  them, 
if  you  are  agreeable  to  this  go  and 
intreat  for  me  to  Ephron,  the  son  of 
Zochar,  requesting  that  he  may  give 
me  the  cave  of  Machpelah,  which  is 
in  the  end  of  his  field,  and  I  will 
purchase  it  of  him  for  whatever  he 
desire  for  it. 

5.  And  Ephron  dwelt  among  the 
children  of  Heth,  and  they  went  and 
called  for  him,  and  he  came  before 
Abraham,  and  Ephron  said  unto 
Abraham,  behold  all  thou  requirest 
thy  servant  will  do  ;  and  Abraham 
said,  no,  but  I  will  buy  the  cave  and 
the  field  which  thou  hast  for  value, 
in  order  that  it  may  he  for  a  posses- 
sion of  a  burial  place  for  ever. 

6.  And  Ephron  answered  and  said, 
behold  the  field  and  the  cave  are  be- 
fore thee,  give  Avhatever  thou  desir- 
est;  and  Abraham  said,  only  at  full 
value  will  I  buy  it  from  thy  hand, 
and  from  the  hands  of  those  that  go 
in  at  the  gate  of  thy  city,  and  from 
the  hand  of  thy  seed  for  ever. 

7.  And  Ephron  and  all  his  breth- 
ren heard  this,  and  Abraham  weigh- 
ed to  Ephron  four  hundred  shekels 
of  silver  in  the  hands  of  Ephron  and 
in  the  hands  of  all  his  brethren  ;  and 
Abraham  wrote  this  transaction,  and 
he  wrote  it  and  testified  it  with  four 
witnesses. 

8.  And  these  are  the  names  of  the 
witnesses,  Amigal  son  of  Abishna 
the  Hittite,  Adichorom  son  of  Ashu- 
nach  the  Hivite,  Abdon  son  of  Achi- 
ram  the  Gomerite,  Bakdil  the  son  of 
Abudish  the  Zidonite. 

9.  And  Abraham  took  the  book  of 


the  purchase,  and  placed  it  in  his 
treasures,  and  these  are  the  words 
that  Abraham  wrote  in  the  book, 
namely. 

10.  That  the  cave  and  the  field 
Abraham  bought  from  Ephron  the 
Hittite,  and//om  his  seed,  and  from 
those  that  go  out  of  his  city,  and 
from  their  seed  for  ever,  are  to  be  a 
a  purchase  to  Abraham  and  to  his 
seed  and  to  those  that  go  forth  from 
his  loins,  for  a  possession  of  a  burial 
place  for  ever;  and  he  put  a  signet 
to  it  and  testified  it  ivith  witnesses. 

1 1 .  And  the  field  and  the  cave  that 
was  in  it  and  all  that  place  were 
made  sure  unto  Abraham  and  unto 
his  seed  after  him,  from  the  children 
of  Heth ;  behold  it  is  before  Mamre 
in  Hebron,  which  is  in  the  land  of 
Canaan. 

12.  And  after  this  Abraham  buri- 
ed his  wife  Sarah  there,  and  that 
place  and  all  its  boundary  became  to 
Abraham  and  unto  his  seed  for  a 
possession  of  a  burial  place. 

13.  And  Abraham  buried  Sarah 
with  pomp  as  observed  at  the  inter- 
ment of  kings,  and  she  was  buried  in 
very  fine  and  beautiful  garments. 

14.  And  at  her  bier  was  Shem, 
his  sons  Eber  and  Abimelech,  to- 
gether with  Anar,  Ashcol  and  Mamre, 
and  all  the  grandees  of  the  land  fol- 
lowed her  bier. 

15.  And  the  days  of  Sarah  were 
one  hundred  and  twenty  seven  years 
and  she  died,  and  Abraham  made  a 
great  and  heavy  mourning,  and  he 
performed  the  rites  of  mourning  for 
seven  days. 

16.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of  tlie 
land  comforted  Abraham  and  Isaac 
his  son  on  account  of  Sarah. 

17.  And  when  the  days  of  their 
mourning  passed  by  Abraham  sent 
awav  his  son  Isaac,  and  he  went  to 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER 


71 


the  house  of  Shem  and  Eber,  to 
learn  the  ways  of  tlic  Jjoid  and  his 
instructions,  and  Abraham  remained 
there  three  years. 

18.  At  that  time  Abraham  rose  up 
with  all  his  servants,  and  they  went 
and  returned  homeward  to  Bcershe- 
ba,  and  Abraham  and  all  his  servants 
remained  in  Beersheba. 

19.  And  at  the  revolution  of  the 
year  Abimelcch  king  of  the  Philis- 
tines died  in  that  year ;  he  was  one 
hundred  and  ninety  three  years  old 
at  his  death ;  and  Abraham  went 
with  his  people  to  the  land  of  the 
Philistines,  and  they  comforted  the 
whole  household  and  all  his  servants, 
and  he  then  turned  and  went  home. 

20.  And  it  was  after  the  death  of 
Abimelech  that  the  people  of  Gerar 
took  Benmalich  liis  son,  and  he  was 
only  twelve  years  old,  and  they 
made  him  king  in  the  place  of  his 
father. 

21.  And  they  called  his  name 
Abimelech  after  the  name  of  his 
father,  for  thus  was  it  their  custom 
to  do  in  Gerar,  and  Abimelech 
reigned  instead  of  Abimelech  his 
father,  and  he  sat  upon  his  throne. 

22.  And  Lot  the  son  Haran  also 
died  in  those  days,  in  the  thirty  ninth 
year  of  the  life  of  Isaac,  and  all  the 
days  that  Lot  lived  were  one  hundred 
and  forty  years  and  he  died, 

23.  And  these  are  the  children  of 
Lot,  that  were  born  to  him  by  his 
daughters  ;  the  name  of  the  first  born 
was  Moab,  and  the  name  of  the 
second  was  Benami, 

24.  And  the  two  sons  of  Lot  went 
and  took  themselves  wives  from  the 
land  of  Canaan,  and  they  bare 
children  to  them,  and  the  children  of 
Moab  were  Ed,  Mayon,  Tarsus,  and 
Kanvil,  four  sons,  these  are  fathers 
to  the  children  of  Moab  unto  this  day. 


25.  And  all  the  families  of  the 
children  of  Lot  went  to  dwell  wher- 
ever they  should  light  upon,  for  they 
were  fruitful  and  increased  aburi- 
dantly. 

26.  And  they  went  and  built  them- 
selves cities  in  the  land  where  they 
dwelt,  and  they  called  the  names  of 
the  cities  which  they  built  after  their 
own  names. 

27.  And  Nahor  the  son  of  Terah, 
brother  to  Abraham,  died  in  those 
days  in  the  fortieth  year  of  the  life 
of  Isaac,  and  all  the  days  of  Nahor 
were  one  hundred  and  seventy  two 
years  and  he  died  and  was  buried  in 
llaran. 

28.  And  when  Abraham  heard 
that  his  brother  was  dead  he  grieved 
sadly,  and  he  mourned  over  his 
brother  many  days. 

29.  And  Abraham  called  for 
Eliezer  his  head  servant,  to  give 
him  orders  concerning  his  house,  and 
he  came  and  stood  before  him. 

30.  And  Abraham  said  to  him, 
behold  I  am  old,  I  do  not  know  the 
day  of  my  death  ;  for  I  am  advanced 
in  days ;  now  therefore  rise  up,  go 
forth  and  do  not  take  a  wife  for  my 
son  from  this  place  and  from  this 
land,  from  the  daughters  of  the 
Canaanites  amongst  whom  we  dwell. 

31.  But  go  to  my  land  and  to  my 
birth  place,  and  take  from  thence  a 
wife  for  my  son,  and  the  Lord  God 
of  Heaven  and  earth  who  took  me 
from  my  father's  house  and  brought 
me  to  this  place,  and  said  unto  me, 
to  thy  seed  will  I  give  this  land  for 
an  inheritance  for  ever,  he  will  send 
his  angel  before  thee  and  prosper 
thy  way,  that  thou  mayest  obtain  a 
wife  for  my  son  from  my  family  and 
from  my  father's  house. 

32.  And  the  servant  answered  his 
master  Abraham  and  said,  behold  I 


72 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


go  to  thy  birth  place  and  to  thy 
lather's  house,  and  take  a  wife  for 
thy  son  from  there  ;  but  if  the  woman 
be  not  wiUing  to  follow  me  to  this 
land,  shall  I  take  thy  son  back  to  the 
land  of  thy  birth  place  ? 

33.  And  Abraham  said  unto  him, 
take  heed  that  thou  bring  not  my 
son  hither  again,  for  the  Lord  before 
whom  I  have  walked  he  will  send 
his  angel  before  thee  and  prosper 
thy  way. 

34.  And  Eliezer  did  as  Abraham 
ordered  him,  and  Eliezer  swore  unto 
Abraham  his  master  upon  this 
matter  ;  and  Eliezer  rose  up  and  took 
ten  camels  of  the  camels  of  his 
master,  and  ten  men  from  his  master's 
servants  with  him,  and  they  rose  up 
and  went  to  Haran,  the  city  of 
Abraham  and  Nahor,  in  order  to 
fetch  a  wife  for  Isaac  the  son  of 
Abraham  ;  and  whilst  they  were  gone 
Abraham  sent  to  the  house  of  Shem 
and  Eber,  and  they  brought  from 
thence  his  son  Isaac. 

35.  And  Isaac  came  home  to  his 
father's  house  to  Beersheba,  whilst 
Eliezer  and  his  men  came  to  Haran  ; 
and  they  stopped  in  the  city  by  the 
watering  jjlace,  and  he  made  his 
camels  to  kneel  down  by  the  water 
and  they  remained  there. 

36.  And  Eliezer,  Abraham's  ser- 
vant, prayed  and  said,  0  God  of 
Abraham  my  master ;  send  me  I 
pray  thee  good  speed  this  day  and 
show  kindness  unto  my  master,  that 
thou  shall  appoint  this  day  a  wife 
for  my  master's  son  fi'om  his  family. 

37.  And  the  Lord  hearkened  to 
the  voice  of  Eliezer,  for  the  sake  of 
his  servant  Abraham,  and  he  hap- 
pened to  meet  with  the  daughter  of 
Bethuel,  the  son  of  Milcah,  the  wife 
of  Nahor,  brother  to  Abraham,  and 
Eliezer  came  to  her  house. 


38.  And  Eliezer  related  to  them 
all  his  concerns,  and  that  he  was 
Abraham's  servant,  and  they  gi-eatly 
rejoiced  at  him. 

39.  And  they  all  blessed  the  Lord 
who  brought  this  thing  about,  and 
they  gave  him  Rebecca,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Bethuel,  for  a  wife  for  Isaac. 

40.  And  the  young  woman  was 
of  very  comely  appearance,  she  was 
a  virgin,  and  Rebecca  was  ten  years 
old  in  those  days. 

41.  And  Bethuel  and  Laban  and 
his  children  made  a  feast  on  that 
night,  and  Eliezer  and  his  men  came 
and  ate  and  drank  and  rejoiced  there 
on  that  night. 

42.  And  Eliezer  rose  up  in  the 
morning,  he  and  the  men  that  were 
with  him,  and  he  called  to  the  whole 
household  of  Bethuel,  saying,  send 
me  away  that  I  may  go  to  my  mas- 
ter;  and.they  roseup  and  sent  away 
Rebecca  and  her  nurse  Deborah,  the 
daughter  of  Uz,  and  they  gave  her 
silver  and  gold,  men  servants  and 
maid  servants,  and  they  blessed  her. 

43.  And  they  sent  Eliezer  away 
with  his  men  ;  and  the  servants  took 
Rebecca,  and  he  went  and  returned 
to  his  master  to  the  land  of  Canaan. 

44.  And  Isaac  took  Rebecca  and 
she  became  his  wife,  and  he  brought 
her  into  the  tent. 

45.  And  Isaac  was  forty  years  old 
when  he  took  Rebecca,  the  daughter 
of  his  uncle  Bethuel,  for  a  wife. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

1 .  And  it  was  at  that  time  that 
Abiaham  again  took  a  wife  in  his  old 
age,  and  her  name  was  Keturah,from 
the  land  of  Canaan. 

2.  And  she  bare  unto  him  Zim- 
rau,  Yokshan,  Medan,  Midian,  Yish- 
bak    and    Shuach,   being  six  sons. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


n 


And  the   children  of   Zemran  were 
Abihen,  Molich  and  Marim. 

3.  And  the  sons  of  Yokshan  were 
Sheba  and  Dedan,  and  tlie  sons  of 
Medan  were  Amida,  Joab,  Gochi, 
Ehsha  and  Nothach  ;  and  the  sons 
of  Midian  were  Ephah,  Epher, 
Chanoch,  Abida  and  Eldaah. 

4.  And  the  sons  of  Yishbak  were 
Makiro,  Beyodua  and  Tator. 

5.  And  the  sons  of  Shuach  were 
Bildad,  Mamdad,  Munan  and  Meban ; 
all  these  arc  the  families  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Keturah  the  Canaanitish  wo- 
man which  she  bare  unto  Abraham 
the  Hebrew. 

6.  And  Abraham  sent  all  these 
away,  and  he  gave  them  gifts,  and 
ihey  went  away  from  his  son  Isaac 
to  dwell  wherever  they  should  find 
a  place. 

7.  And  all  these  went  to  the  moun- 
tain at  the  east,  and  they  built  them- 
selves six  cities  in  which  they  dwelt 
unto  this  day. 

8.  But  the  children  of  Sheba  and 
Dedan,  children  of  Yokshan,  with 
their  children,  did  not  dwell  with  their 
brethren  in  their  cities,  and  they  jour- 
neyed and  encamped  in  the  countries 
and  wildernesses  unto  this  day. 

9.  And  the  children  of  Midian, 
son  of  Abraham,  went  to  the  east  of 
the  land  of  Cush,  and  they  there 
fo\md  a  large  valley  in  the  eastern 
country,  and  they  remained  thej'e 
and  built  a  city,  and  they  dwelt 
therein  ;  that  is  the  land  of  Midian 
unto  tins  day. 

10.  And  Midian  dv^^elt  in  the  city 
which  he  built,  he  and  his  five  sons 
and  all  belonging  to  him. 

11.  And  these  are  the  names  of 
the  sons  of  Midian  according  to  their 
names  in  their  cities,  Ephah,  Epher, 
Chanoch,  Abida  and  Eldaah. 

12.  And  the  sons  of  Ephah  were 


Methach,  Meshar,  Avi  and  Tzanua, 
and  the  sons  of  Epher  were  Ephron, 
Zur,  Alirun  and  Mcdin,  and  the  sons 
of  Chanoch  were  Rcuel,  Rckem,  Azi, 
Alyosliub  and  Alad. 

13.  And  the  sons  of  Abida  were 
Chur,  Melud,  Keruy,  Molchi ;  and 
the  sons  of  Eldaah  were  Mikcr,  and 
Reba,  and  Malchiyah  and  Gabol ; 
these  are  the  names  of  the  Midianites 
according  to  their  families  ;  and  af- 
terward the  families  of  Midian  spread 
throughout  the  land  of  Midian. 

14.  And  these  are  the  generations 
of  Ishmael  the  son  of  Abraham, 
whom  Hagar,  Sarah's  handmaid,  bare 
unto  Abraham. 

15.  And  Ishmael  took  a  wife  from 
the  land  of  Egypt,  and  her  name  was 
Ribah,  the  same  is  Meribah. 

16.  And  Ribah  bare  unto  Ishmael 
Nebayoth,  Kedar,  Adbecl,  Mibsam 
and  their  sister  Bosmath. 

17.  And  Ishmael  cast  away  his 
wife  Ribah,  and  she  went  from  him 
and  returned  to  Egypt  to  the  house 
of  her  father,  and  she  dwelt  there,  for 
she  had  been  very  bad  in  the  sight 
of  Ishmael,  and  in  the  sight  of  his 
father  Abraham. 

18.  And  Ishmael  afterward  took 
a  wife  from  the  land  of  Canaan,  and 
her  name  was  Malchuth,  and  she 
bare  unto  him  Nishma,  Dumah, 
Masa,  Chadad,  Tema,  Yetur,  Nap- 
hish  and  Kedma. 

1 9.  These  arc  the  sons  of  Ishmael, 
and  these  are  their  names,  bei7ig' 
twelve  princes  according  to  their 
nations  ;  and  the  families  of  Ishmael 
afterward  spread  forth,  and  Ishmael 
took  his  children  and  all  the  property 
that  he  had  gained,  together  with  the 
souls  of  his  household  and  all  belong- 
ing to  him,  and  they  went  to  dwell 
where  they  should  find  a  place. 

20.  And  they  went  and  dwelt  near 


74 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


the  wilderness  of  Paran,  and  their 
dwelhng  was  from  Havilah  unto 
Shur,  that  is  before  Egypt  as  thou 
comest  toward  Assyria. 

21.  And  Ishmael  and  his  sons 
dwelt  in  the  land,  and  they  had  chil- 
dren born  to  them,  and  they  were 
fruitful  and  increased  abundantly. 

22.  And  these  are  the  names  of 
the  sons  of  Nebayoth  the  first  born 
of  Ishmael ;  Mend,  Send,  and  Ma- 
yon  ;  and  the  sons  of  Kedar  were 
Alyon,  Ke^em,  Ciiamad  and  Eli. 

23.  And  the  sons  of  Adbeel  were 
Chamad  and  Jabin ;  and  the  sons  of 
Mibsam  were  Obadiah,  Ebedmelech 
and  Ycush  ;  these  are  the  families 
of  the  children  of  Ribah  the  wife  of 
Ishmael. 

24.  And  the  sons  of  Mishmatheson 
of  Ishmael  were  Shamua,  Zecaryon 
and  Obed  ;  and  the  sons  of  Dumah 
were  Kezcd,  Eli,  Machmad*  and 
Amed. 

25.  And  the  sons  of  Masa  were 
Melon,  Mula  and  Ebidadon ;  and  the 
sons  of  Chadad  were  Azur,  Minzar 
and  Ebedmelech  ;  and  the  sons  of 
Tema  were  Seir,  Sadon  and  Yakol. 

26.  And  the  sons  of  Yetur  were 
Merith,  Yaish,  Alyo,  and  Pachoth  ; 
and  the  sons  of  Naphish  were  Ebcd- 
Tamed,  Abiyasaph  and  Mir;  and 
the  sons  of  Kedma  were  Calip, 
Tachti,  and  Omir ;  these  were  the 
children  of  Malchuth  the  wife  of  Ish- 
mael according  to  their  families. 

27.  All  these  are  the  families  of 
Ishmael  according  to  their  genera- 
tions, and  they  dwelt  in  those  lands 
wherein  they  had  built  themselves 
cities  unto  this  day. 

28.  And  Rebecca  the  daughter  of 
Bethnel,  the  wife  of  Abraham's  son 
Isaac,  was  barren  in  those  days,  she 
had  no  offspring  ;  and  Isaac   dwelt 

*  This  is  generally  called  Mohammed. 


[  with  his  father  in  the  land  of  Canaan ; 
and  the  Lord  was  with  Isaac ;  and 
Arpachshad  the  son  of  Shem  the 
son  of  Noah  died  in  those  days,  in 
the  forty  eighth  year  of  the  life  of 
Isaac,  and  all  the  days  that  Arpach- 
shad lived  were  four  hundred  and 
thirty  eight  years,  and  he  died. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

1.  And  in  the  fifty  ninth  year  of 
the  life  of  Isaac  the  son  of  Abraham, 
Rebecca  his  wife  was  still  barren 
in  those  days. 

2.  And  Rebecca  said  unto  Isaac, 
truly  I  have  heard,  my  lord,  that  tiiy 
mother  Sarah  was  barren  in  her 
days  until  my  lord  Abraham,  thy 
father,  prayed  for  her  and  she  con- 
ceived by  him. 

3.  Now  therefore  stand  up,  pray 
thou  also  to  God  and  he  will  hear 
thy  prayer  and  remember  us  through 
his  mercies. 

4.  And  Isaac  answered  his  wife 
Rebecca,  saying,  Abraham  has  al- 
ready prayed  for  me  to  God  to  mul- 
tiply his  seed,  now  therefore  tiiis 
barrenness  must  proceed  to  us  from 
thee. 

5.  And  Rebecca  said  unto  him, 
but  arise  now  thou  also  and  pray, 
that  the  Lord  may  hear  thy  prayer 
and  grant  me  children,  and  Isaac 
hearkened  to  the  words  of  his  wife, 
and  Isaac  and  his  wife  rose  up  and 
went  to  the  land  of  Moriah  to  pray 
there  and  to  seek  the  Lord,  and 
when  they  had  reached  that  place 
Isaac  stood  up  and  prayed  to  the 
Lord  on  account  of  his  wife  because 
she  was  barren. 

6.  And  Isaac  said,  0  Lord  God 
of  heaven  and  earth,  whose  good- 
ness and  mercies  fill  the  earth,  thou 
who  didst  take  my  father  from  his 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


75 


father's  house  and  from  his  birlh 
j)lace,  and  didst  bring  him  unto  this 
land,  and  didst  say  unto  him,  to  thy 
seed  will  I  give  the  land,  and  thou 
didst  promise  him  and  didst  declare 
unto  him,  I  will  multiply  thy  seed  as 
the  stars  of  heaven  and  as  the  sand 
of  the  sea,  now  may  thy  words  be 
veritied  which  thou  didst  speak  unto 
my  father. 

7.  For  thou  art  the  Lord  our  God, 
oiu'  eyes  are  toward  thee  to  give  us 
seed  of  men,  as  thou  didst  promise 
us,  for  thou  art  the  Lord  our  God 
and  our  eyes  are  directed  toward 
thee  ordij. 

8.  And  the  Lord  heard  the  prayer 
of  Isaac  the  son  of  Abraham,  and  the 
Lord  was  intreatcd  of  him  and  Re- 
becca his  wife  conceived. 

9.  And  in  about  seven  months 
after  the  children  struggled  together 
within  her,  and  it  pained  her  greatly 
that  she  was  wearied  on  account  of 
them,  and  she  said  to  all  the  women 
who  were  then  in  the  land,  did  such 
a  thing  happen  to  you  as  it  has  to 
mc  ?  and  they  said  unto  her,  no. 

10.  And  she  said  unto  them,  why 
am  I  alone  in  this  amongst  all  the 
women  that  were  upon  earth  ?  and 
she  went  to  the  land  of  Moriah  to 
seek  the  Lord  on  account  of  this  ; 
and  she  went  to  Shem  and  Eber  his 
son  to  make  inquiries  of  them  in 
tliis  matter,  and  that  they  should 
seek  the  Lord  in  this  thing  respect- 
ing her. 

1 1 .  And  she  also  asked  Abraham 
to  seek  and  inquire  of  the  Lord  about 
all  that  had  befallen  her. 

12.  And  they  all  inquired  of  the 
Lord  concerning  this  matter,  and  they 
brought  her  word  from  the  Lord  and 
told  her,  two  children  are  in  thy 
womb,  and  two  nations  shall  rise 
from  them  ;  and  one  nation  shall  be 


stronger    than    the    otlier,    and   the 
greater  shall  serve  the  younger. 

13.  And  when  her  days  to  be  de- 
livered were  completed,  she  knell 
down,  and  behold  there  were  twins 
in  her  womb,  as  the  Lord  had  spo- 
ken to  her. 

14.  And  the  first  came  out  red  all 
over  like  a  hairy  garment,  and  all  the 
people  of  the  land  called  his  name 
Esau,  saying,  that  this  one  was  made 
complete  from  the  womb. 

15.  And  after  that  came  his  bro- 
ther, and  his  hand  look  hokl  of  Esau's 
heel,  therefore  they  called  his  name 
Jacob. 

16.  And  Isaac,  the  son  of  Abra- 
ham, was  sixty  years  old  when  he 
begat  them. 

17.  And  the  boys  grew  up  to  their 
fifteenth  year,  and  they  came  amongst 
the  society  of  men.  Esau  was  a  de- 
signing and  deceitful  man,  and  an 
expert  hunter  in  the  field,  and  Jacob 
was  a  man  perfect  and  wise,  dwelling 
in  tents,  feeding  flocks  and  learning 
the  instructions  of  the  Lord  and  the 
commands  of  his  father  and  mother. 

18.  And  Isaac  and  the  children 
of  his  household  dwelt  with  his  father 
Abraham  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  as 
God  had  commanded  them. 

19.  And  Ishmael  the  son  of  Abra- 
ham went  with  his  children  and  all 
belonging  to  them,  and  they  returned 
there  to  the  land  of  Havilah,  and  they 
dwelt  there. 

20.  And  all  the  children  of  Abra- 
ham's concubines  went  to  dwell  in 
the  land  of  the  east,  for  Abraham 
had  sent  them  away  from  his  son, 
and  had  given  them  presents,  and 
they  went  away. 

21.  And  Abraham  gave  all  that  he 
had  to  his  son  Isaac,  and  he  also 
gave  him  all  his  treasures. 

22.  And  he  commanded  him,  say- 


76 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


ing,  dost  thou  not  know  and  under- 
stand the  Lord  is  God  in  heaven  and 
in  earth,  and  there  is  no  other  beside 
him? 

23.  And  it  was  he  who  took  me 
from  my  father's  house,  and  from 
my  birth-place,  and  gave  me  all  the 
delights  upon  earth ;  who  delivered 
me  from  the  counsel  of  the  wicked, 
for  in  him  did  I  trust. 

24.  And  he  brought  me  to  this 
place,  and  he  delivered  me  from  Ur 
Casdim  ;  and  he  said  unto  me,  to 
thy  seed  will  I  give  all  these  lands, 
and  they  shall  inherit  them  when 
they  keep  my  commandments,  my 
statutes  and  my  judgments  that  I 
have  commanded  thee,  and  which  I 
shall  command  them. 

25.  Now  therefore  my  son,  hear- 
ken to  my  voice,  and  keep  the  com- 
mandments of  the  Lord  thy  God, 
which  I  commanded  thee,  do  not  turn 
from  the  right  way  either  to  the  right 
or  to  the  left,  in  order  that  it  may  be 
well  with  thee  and  thy  children  after 
thee  forever. 

26.  And  remember  the  wonderful 
works  of  the  Lord,  and  his  kindness 
that  he  has  shown  toward  us,  in  hav- 
ing delivered  us  from  the  hands  of 
our  enemies,  and  the  Lord  our  God 
caused  them  to  fall  into  our  hands  ; 
and  now^  therefore  keep  all  that  I 
have  commanded  thee,  and  turn  not 
away  from  the  commandments  of  thy 
God,  and  serve  none  beside  him,  in 
order  that  it  may  be  well  with  thee 
and  thy  seed  after  thee. 

27.  And  teach  thou  thy  children 
and  thy  seed  the  instructions  of  the 
Lord  and  his  commandments,  and 
teach  them  the  upright  way  in  Avhich 
they  should  go,  in  order  that  it  may 
be  well  with  them  forever. 

28.  And  Isaac  answered  his  father 
and  said  unto  him,  that  which  my 


Lord  has  commanded  that  will  I  do, 
and  I  will  not  depart  from  the  com- 
mands of  the  Lord  my  God,  I  will 
keep  all  that  he  commanded  me  ;  and 
Abraham  blessed  his  son  Isaac,  and 
also  his  children ;  and  Abraham 
taught  Jacob  the  instruction  of  the 
Lord  and  his  ways. 

29.  And  it  was  at  that  time  that 
Abraham  died,  in  the  fifteenth  year 
of  the  life  of  Jacob  and  Esau,  the 
sons  of  Isaac,  and  all  the  days  of 
Abraham  were  one  hundred  and  se- 
venty-five years,  and  he  died  and 
was  gathered  to  his  people  in  good 
old  age,  old  and  satisfied  with  days, 
and  Isaac  and  Ishmael  his  sons  bu- 
ried him. 

30.  And  when  the  inhabitants  of 
Canaan  heard  that  Abraham  was 
dead,  they  all  came  with  their  kings 
and  princes  and  all  their  men  to  bury 
Abraham. 

3L  And  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land  of  Haran,  and  all  the  families 
of  the  house  of  Abraham,  and  all  the 
princes  and  grandees,  and  the  sons 
of  Abraham  by  the  concubines,  all 
came  when  they  heard  of  Abraham's 
death,  and  they  requited  Abraham's 
kindness,  and  comforted  Isaac  his 
son,  and  they  buried  Abraham  in  the 
cave  which  he  bought  from  Ephron 
the  Hittite  and  his  children,  for  the 
possession  of  a  burial  place. 

32.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of  Ca- 
naan, and  all  those  who  had  known 
Abraham,  wept  for  Abraham  a  whole 
year,  and  men  and  women  mourned 
over  him. 

33.  And  all  the  little  children,  and 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  wept 
on  accoiuit  of  Abraham,  for  Abraham 
had  been  good  to  them  all,  and  be- 
cause he  had  been  upright  with  God 
and  men. 

34.  And   theie   arose   not  a  man 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


77 


who  feared  God  like  unto  Abraham, 
for  he  had  feared  his  God  from  his 
youth,  and  had  served  the  Lord,  and 
had  gone  in  all  his  ways  during  his 
life,  from  his  childhood  to  the  day 
of  his  death. 

35.  And  the  Lord  was  with  him 
and  delivered  him  from  the  counsel 
of  Ninirod  and  his  people,  and  when 
he  made  war  with  the  four  kings  of 
Elam  he  conquered  them. 

36.  And  he  brought  all  the  chil- 
dren of  the  earth  to  the  service  of 
God,  and  he  taught  them  the  ways 
of  the  Lord,  and  caused  them  to 
know  the  Lord. 

37.  And  he  formed  a  grove  and  he 
planted  a  vineyard  therein,  and  he 
had  always  prepared  in  his  tent  meat 
and  drink  to  those  that  passed  through 
the  land,  that  they  might  satisfy 
themselves  in  his  house. 

38.  And  the  Lord  God  delivered 
the  whole  earth  on  account  of  Abra- 
ham. 

39.  And  it  was  after  the  death  of 
Abraham  that  God  blessed  his  son 
Isaac  and  his  children,  and  the  Lord 
was  with  Isaac  as  he  had  been  with 
his  father  Abraham,  for  Isaac  kept 
all  the  commandments  of  the  Lord 
as  Abraham  his  father  had  command- 
ed him  ;  he  did  not  turn  to  the  right 
or  to  the  left  from  the  right  path 
which  his  father  had  commanded 
him. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

1 .  And  Esau  at  that  time,  after 
the  death  of  Abraham,  frequently 
went  in  the  field  to  hunt. 

2.  And  Nimrod  king  of  Babel,  the 
same  was  Amraphel,  also  frequently 
went  with  his  mighty  men  to  hunt 
in  the  field,  and  to  walk  about  with 
his  men  in  the  cool  of  the  day. 


3.  And  Nimrod  was  observing 
Esau  all  the  days,  for  a  jealousy  was 
formed  in  the  heart  of  Nimrod  against 
Esau  all  the  days. 

4.  And  on  a  certain  day  Esau  went 
in  the  field  to  hunt,  and  he  found 
Nimrod  walking  in  the  wilderness 
with  his  two  men. 

5.  And  all  his  mighty  men  and  his 
people  were  with  him  in  the  wilder- 
ness, but  they  removed  at  a  distance 
from  him,  and  they  went  from  him 
in  different  directions  to  hunt,  and 
Esau  concealed  himself  for  Nimrod, 
and  he  lurked  for  him  in  the  wilder- 
ness. 

6.  And  Nimrod  and  his  men  that 
were  with  him  did  not  know  him, 
and  Nimrod  and  his  men  frequently 
walked  about  in  the  field  at  the  cool 
of  the  day,  and  to  know  where  his 
men  were  hunting  in  the  field. 

7.  And  Nimrod  and  two  of  his 
men  that  were  with  him  came  to  the 
place  where  they  were,  when  Esau 
started  suddenly  from  his  lurking 
place,  and  drew  his  sword,  and  has- 
tened and  ran  to  Nimrod  and  cut  off 
his  head. 

8.  And  Esau  fought  a  desperate 
fight  with  the  two  men  that  were 
with  Nimrod,  and  when  they  called 
out  to  him,  Esau  turned  to  them  and 
smote  them  to  death  with  his  sword. 

9.  And  all  the  mighty  men  of  Nim- 
rod, who  had  left  him  to  go  to  the 
wilderness,  heard  the  cry  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  they  knew  the  voices  of 
those  two  men,  and  they  ran  to  know 
the  cause  of  it,  when  they  found  their 
king  and  the  two  men  that  were  with 
him  lying  dead  in  the  wilderness. 

10.  And  when  Esau  saw  the 
mighty  men  of  Nimrod  coming  at  a 
distance,  he  fled,  and  thereby  escap- 
ed ;  and  Esau  took  the  valuable  gar- 
ments of  Nimrod,  which  Nimrod's 


78 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


;  father  had  bequeathed  to  Nimrod, 
and  with  which  Nimrod  prevailed 
over  the  whole  land,  and  he  ran  and 
concealed  them  in  his  house. 

11.  And  Esau  took  those  garments 
and  ran  into  the  city  on  account  of 
Nimrod's  men,  and  he  came  unto  his 
father's  house  wearied  and  exhausted 
from  fight,  and  he  was  ready  to  die 
through  grief  when  he  approached 
his  brother  Jacob  and  sat  before  him. 

12.  And  he  said  unto  his  brother 
Jacob,  behold  I  shall  die  this  day, 
and  wherefore  then  do  I  want  the 
birthright  ?  And  Jacob  acted  wisely 
with  Esau  in  this  matter,  and  Esau 
sold  his  birthright  to  Jacob,  for  it  was 
so  brought  about  by  the  Lord. 

13.  And  Esau's  portion  in  the 
cave  of  the  field  of  Machpelah,  which 
Abraham  had  bought  from  the  chil- 
dren of  Heth  for  the  possession  of  a 
burial  ground,  Esau  also  sold  to  Ja- 
cob, and  Jacob  bought  all  this  from 
his  brother  Esau  for  value  given. 

14.  And  Jacob  wrote  the  whole 
of  this  in  a  book,  and  he  testified  the 
same  with  witnesses,  and  he  sealed 
it,  and  the  book  remained  in  the 
hands  of  Jacob. 

15.  And  when  Nimrod  the  son  of 
Cush  died,  his  men  lifted  him  up 
and  brought  him  in  consternation, 
and  buried  him  in  his  city,  and  all 
the  days  that  Nimrod  lived  were  two 
hundred  and  fifteen  years  and  he 
died. 

16.  And  the  days  that  Nimrod 
reigned  upon  the  people  of  the  land 
were  one  hundred  and  eighty-five 
years  ;  and  Nimrod  died  by  the  sword 
of  Esau  in  shame  and  contempt,  and 
the  seed  of  Abraham  caused  his  death 
as  he  had  seen  in  his  dream. 

17.  And  at  the  death  of  Nimrod 
his  kingdom  became  divided  into 
many  divisions,  and  all  those  parts 


that  Nimrod  reigned  over  were  re- 
stored to  the  respective  kings  of  the 
land,  who  recovered  them  after  the 
death  of  Nimrod,  and  all  the  people 
of  the  house  of  Nimrod  were  for  a 
long  time  enslaved  to  all  the  other 
kings  of  the  land. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

1.  And  in  those  days,  after  the 
death  of  Abraham,  in  that  year  the 
Lord  brought  a  heavy  famine  in  the 
land,  and  whilst  the  famine  was  ra- 
ging in  the  land  of  Canaan,  Isaac 
rose  up  to  go  down  to  Egypt  on  ac- 
count of  the  famine,  as  his  father 
Abraham  had  done. 

2.  And  the  Lord  appeared  that 
night  to  Isaac  and  he  said  to  him,  do 
not  go  down  to  Egypt  hut  rise  and 
go  to  Gerar,  to  Abimelech  king  of 
the  Philistines,  and  remain  there  till 
the  famine  shall  cease. 

3.  And  Isaac  rose  up  and  went  to 
Gerar,  as  the  Lord  commanded  him, 
and  he  remained  there  a  full  year. 

4.  And  when  Isaac  came  to  Gerar, 
the  people  of  the  land  saw  that  Re- 
becca his  wife  was  of  a  beautiful  ap- 
pearance, and  the  people  of  Gerar 
asked  Isaac  concerning  his  wife,  and 
he  said,  she  is  my  sister,  for  he  was 
afraid  to  say  she  loos  his  wife  lest 
the  people  of  the  land  should  slay 
him  on  account  of  her. 

5.  And  the  princes  of  Abimelech 
went  and  praised  the  woman  to  the 
king,  but  he  answered  them  net,  nei- 
ther did  he  attend  to  their  words. 

6.  But  he  heard  them  say  that 
Isaac  declared  her  to  be  his  sister, 
so  the  king  reserved  this  within  him- 
self. 

7.  And  when  Isaac  had  remained 
three  months  in  the  land,  Abimelech 
looked  out  at   the  window,  and  he 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


79 


saw,  and  behold  Isaac  was  sporting 
with  Rebecca  his  wife,  for  Isaac 
dweh  in  the  outer  house  belonging 
to  the  king,  so  that  the  house  of 
Isaac  was  opposite  the  house  of  the 
king. 

8.  And  the  king  said  unto  Isaac, 
what  is  this  thou  hast  done  to  us  in 
saying  of  thy  wife,  she  is  my  sister  ? 
how  easily  might  one  of  the  great 
men  of  the  people  have  lain  with  her, 
and  thou  wouldst  then  have  brought 
guilt  upon  us. 

9.  And  Isaac  said  unto  Abimc- 
Icch,  because  I  was  afraid  lest  I  die 
on  account  of  my  wife,  therefore  I 
said,  she  is  my  sister. 

10.  At  that  time  Abimelech  gave 
orders  to  all  his  princes  and  great 
men,  and  tiiey  took  Isaac  and  Re- 
becca his  wife  and  brought  them  be- 
fore the  king. 

1 1 .  And  the  king  commanded  that 
they  should  dress  them  in  princely 
garments,  and  make  them  ride 
through  the  streets  of  the  city,  and 
proclaim  before  them  throughout  the 
land,  saying,  this  is  the  man  and  this 
is  his  wife ;  whoever  toucheth  this 
man  or  his  wife  shall  surely  die. 
And  Isaac  returned  with  his  wife  to 
the  king's  house,  and  the  Lord  was 
with  Isaac  and  he  continued  to  wax 
great  and  lacked  nothing. 

12.  And  the  Lord  caused  Isaac  to 
find  favor  in  the  sight  of  Abimelech, 
and  in  the  sight  of  all  his  subjects, 
and  Abimelech  acted  well  with  Isaac, 
for  Abimelech  remembered  the  oath 
and  the  covenant  that  existed  be- 
tween his  father  and  Abraham. 

13.  And  Abimelech  said  unto 
Isaac,  behold  the  whole  earth  is  be- 
fore thee  ;  dwell  wherever  it  may 
seem  good  in  thy  sight  until  thou 
shalt  return  to  thy  land  ;  and  Abime- 
lech gave  Isaac  fields  and  vineyards 


and  the  best  part  of  the  land  of  Ge- 
rar,  to  sow  and  reap  and  eat  the  fruits 
of  the  ground  until  the  days  of  the 
famine  should  have  passed  by. 

14.  And  Isaac  sowed  in  tiiat  land, 
and  received  a  hundred-fold  in  the 
same  year,  and  the  Lord  blessed  him. 

15.  And  the  man  waxed  great, 
and  he  had  possession  of  flocks  and 
possession  of  herds  and  great  store 
of  servants. 

16.  And  when  the  days  of  the  fa- 
mine had  passed  away  the  Lord  ap- 
peared to  Isaac  and  said  luito  him, 
rise  up,  go  forth  from  this  place  and 
return  to  thy  land,  to  the  land  of 
Canaan ;  and  Isaac  rose  up  and  re- 
turned to  Hebron  which  is  in  the 
land  of  Canaan,  he  and  all  belonging 
to  him  as  the  Lord  commanded  him. 

17.  And  after  this  Shelach  the 
son  of  Arpachshad  died  in  that  year, 
which  is  the  eighteenth  year  of  the 
lives  of  Jacob  and  Esau  ;  and  all  the 
days  that  Shelach  lived  were  four 
hundred  and  thirty- three  years  and 
he  died. 

18.  At  that  time  Isaac  sent  his 
younger  son  Jacob  to  the  house  of 
^hem  and  Eber,  and  he  learned  the 
instructions  of  the  Lord,  and  Jacob 
remained  in  the  house  of  Shem  and 
Eber  for  thirty-two  years,  and  Esau 
his  brother  did  not  go,  for  he  was  not 
willing  to  go,  and  he  remained  in 
his  father's  house  in  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan. 

19.  And  Esau  was  continually 
hunting  in  the  fields  to  bring  home 
what  he  could  get,  so  did  Esau  all 
the  days. 

20.  And  Esau  was  a  designing 
and  deceitful  man,  one  who  hunted 
after  the  hearts  of  men  and  *invci- 

*  The  literal  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  is,  "he 
stole  their  minds,"  a  beautiful  figure  in  the  ori- 
ginal to  express  deceit,  falsehood  and  fraud. 


80 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


gled  them,  and  Esau  was  a  valiant 
man  in  the  field,  and  in  the  course 
of  time  went  as  usual  to  hunt ;  and 
he  came  as  far  as  the  field  of  Seir, 
the  same  is  Edom. 

21.  And  he  remained  in  the  land 
of  Seir  hunting  in  the  field  a  year 
and  four  months. 

22.  And  Esau  there  saw  in  the 
land  of  Seir  the  daughter  of  a  man 
of  Canaan,  and  her  name  was  Jehu- 
dith,  the  daughter  of  Beeri,  son  of 
Epher,  from  the  families  of  Hcth  the 
son  of  Canaan. 

23.  And  Esau  look  her  for  a  wife, 
and  he  came  unto  her ;  forty  years 
old  was  Esau  when  he  took  her,  and 
he  brought  her  to  Hebron  the  land 
of  his  father's  dwelling  place,  and  he 
dwelt  there. 

24.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  those 
days,  in  the  hundred  and  tenth  year 
of  the  life  of  Isaac,  that  is  in  the  fif- 
tieth year  of  the  life  of  Jacob,  in  that 
year  died  Shem  the  son  of  Noah  ; 
Shem  was  six  hundred  years  old  at 
his  death. 

25.  And  when  Shem  died  Jacob 
returned  to  his  father  to  Hebron  which 
is  in  the  land  of  Canaan. 

26.  And  in  the  fifty-sixth  year  of 
the  life  of  Jacob,  people  came  from 
Haran,  and  Rebecca  was  told  con- 
cerning her  brother  Laban  the  son 
of  Bethuel. 

27.  For  the  wife  of  Laban  was 
barren  in  those  days,  and  bare  no 
children,  and  also  all  his  handmaids 
bare  none  to  him. 

28.  And  the  Lord  afterward  re- 
membered Adinah  the  wife  of  Laban, 
and  she  conceived  and  bare  twin 
daughters,  and  Laban  called  the 
names  of  his  daughters,  the  name  of 
the  elder  Leah,  and  the  name  of  the 
younger  Rachel. 

29.  And  those  people  came  and 


told  these  things  to  Rebecca,  and 
Rebecca  rejoiced  greatly  that  the 
Lord  had  visited  her  brother  and 
that  he  had  got  children. 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

1 .  And  Isaac  the  son  of  Abraham 
became  old  and  advanced  in  days, 
and  his  eyes  became  heavy  through 
age  ;  they  were  dim  and  could  not 
see. 

2.  At  that  time  Isaac  called  unto 
Esau  his  son,  saying,  get  I  pray  thee 
thy  weapons,  thy  quiver  and  thy 
bow,  rise  up  and  go  forth  into  the 
field  and  get  me  some  venison,  and 
make  me  savory  meat  and  bring  it 
to  me,  that  I  may  eat  in  order  that 
I  may  bless  thee  before  my  death, 
as  I  have  now  become  old  and  grey- 
headed. 

3.  And  Esau  did  so ;  and  he  took 
his  weapon  and  went  forth  into  the 
field  to  hunt  for  venison,  as  usual, 
to  bring  to  his  father  as  he  had  or- 
dered him,  so  that  he  might  bless 
him. 

4.  And  Rebecca  heard  all  the 
words  that  Isaac  had  spoken  unto 
Esau,  and  she  hastened  and  called 
her  son  Jacob,  saying,  thus  did  thy 
father  speak  unto  thy  brother  Esau, 
and  thus  did  I  hear,  now  therefore 
hasten  thou  and  make  that  which  I 
shall  tell  thee. 

5.  Rise  up  and  go,  I  pray  thee,  to 
the  flock  and  fetch  me  two  fine  kids 
of  the  goats,  and  I  will  get  the  sa- 
vory meat  for  thy  father,  and  thou 
shalt  bring  the  savory  meat  that  he 
may  eat  before  thy  brother  shall  have 
come  from  the  chase,  in  order  that 
thy  father  may  bless  thee. 

6.  And  Jacob  hastened  and  did  as 
his  mother  had  commanded  him,  and 
he  made  the  savory  meat  and  brought 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


81 


it  before  his  father  before  Esau  had 
come  from  his  chase. 

7.  And  Isaac  said  unto  Jacob, 
who  art  thon,  my  son  ?  And  he  said 
I  am  thy  first  born  Esau,  1  have 
done  as  thou  didst  order  me,  now 
therefore  rise  up  I  pray  liiee,  and 
eat  of  my  hunt,  in  order  that  thy 
soul  may  bless  me  as  thou  didst  speak 
unto  me. 

8.  And  Isaac  rose  up  and  he  ate 
and  he  drank,  and  his  heart  was 
comforted,  and  he  blessed  Jacob, 
and  Jacob  went  away  from  iiis  father ; 
and  as  soon  as  Isaac  had  blessed 
Jacob  and  he  had  gone  away  from 
him,  beiiold  Esau  came  from  his 
hunt  from  the  field,  and  he  also 
made  savory  meat  and  brought  it  to 
his  father  to  eat  thereof  and  to  bless 
him. 

9.  And  Isaac  said  unto  Esau,  and 
who  was  he  that  has  taken  venison 
and  brought  it  me  before  thou  earnest 
and  whom  I  did  bless  ?  And  Esau 
knew  that  his  brother  Jacob  had 
done  this,  and  the  anger  of  Esau 
was  kindled  against  his  brother  Jacob 
that  he  had  acted  thus  toward  him. 

10.  And  Esau  said,  is  he  not 
rightly  called  Jacob  ?  for  he  has 
supplanted  me  twice,  he  took  away 
my  birth  right  and  now  he  has  taken 
away  my  blessing  ;  and  Esau  wept 
greatly ;  and  when  Isaac  heard  the 
voice  of  his  son  Esau  weeping,  Isaac 
said  unto  Esau,  what  can  I  do  my 
son,  thy  brother  came  with  subtlety 
and  took  away  thy  blessing ;  and 
Esau  hated  his  brother  Jacob  on  ac- 
count of  the  blessing  that  liis  father 
had  given  him,  and  his  anger  was 
greatly  roused  asi:ainst  him. 

11.  And  Jacob  was  very  much 
afraid  of  his  brother  Esau,  and  he 
rose  up  and  fled  to  the  house  of  Eber 
the  son  of  Shcm,  and  he  concccded 

6 


Itimself  there  on  account  of  hi» 
brother,  and  Jacob  was  sixty  three 
years  old  when  he  went  forth  from 
the  land  of  Canaan  from  Hebron,  and 
Jacob  was  concealed  in  Ebcr's  house 
fourteen  years  on  account  of  his 
brother  Esau,  and  he  there  coiuinued 
to  learn  the  ways  of  the  Lord  and 
his  commandments. 

12.  And  when  Esau  saw  that 
Jacob  had  fled  and  escaped  from 
iiim,  and  that  Jacob  had  cunningly 
obtained  the  blessing,  then  Esau 
grieved  exceedingly,  and  he  was  also 
vexed  at  his  father  and  mother;  and 
he  also  rose  up  and  took  liis  wife 
and  went  away  from  his  father  and 
mother  to  the  land  of  Scir,  and  he 
dwelt  there;  and  Esau  saw  there  a 
woman  from  amongst  the  daughters 
of  Heth  whose  name  was  Bosmath, 
the  daughter  of  Elon  the  Hitlite,  and 
he  took  her  for  a  wife  in  addition  to 
his^r^^  wife,  and  Esau  called  her 
name  Adah,  saying  the  blessing  had 
in  that  time  passed  from  him. 

13.  And  Esau  dwelt  in  the  land 
of  Seir  six  months  without  seeing 
his  father  and  mother,  and  afterward 
Esau  took  his  wives  and  rose  up  and 
returned  to  the  land  of  Canaan,  and 
Esau  placed  his  two  wives  in  his 
father's  house  in  Hebron. 

14.  And  the  wives  of  Esau  vexed 
and  provoked  Isaac  and  Rebecca 
with  their  works,  for  they  walked 
not  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  but 
served  their  father's  gods  of  wood 
and  stone  as  their  father  had  taught 
them,  and  they  were  more  wicked 
than  their  father. 

15.  And  they  went  according  to 
the  evil  desires  of  their  hearts,  and 
they  sacrificed  and  burnt  incense  to 
the  Baalim,  and  Isaac  and  Rebecca 
became  weary  of  them. 

16.  And    Rebecca    said,    I    am 


82 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


weary  of  my  life  because  of  the 
daughters  of  Heth ;  if  Jacob  take  a 
wife  of  the  daughters  of  Heth,  such 
as  these  which  are  of  the  daughters 
of  the  land,  what  good  then  is  life 
unto  me  ? 

17.  And  in  those  days  Adah  the 
wife  of  Esau  conceived  and  bare 
him  a  son,  and  Esau  called  the  name 
of  the  son  that  was  born  unto  him 
Eliphaz,  and  Esau  was  sixty  five 
years  old  when  she  bare  him. 

18.  And  Ishmael  the  son  of 
Abraham  died  in  those  days,  in  the 
sixty  fourth  year  of  the  life  of  Jacob, 
and  all  the  days  that  Ishmael  lived 
were  one  hundred  and  thirty  seven 
years  and  he  died. 

19.  And  when  Isaac  heard  that 
Ishmael  was  dead  he  mourned  for 
him,  and  Isaac  lamented  over  him 
many  days. 

20.  And  at  the  end  of  fourteen 
years  of  Jacob's  residing  in  the  house 
of  Eber,  Jacob  desired  to  see  his 
father  and  mother,  and  Jacob  came 
to  the  house  of  his  father  and  mother 
to  Hebron,  and  Esau  had  in  those 
days  forgotten  what  Jacob  had  done 
to  him  in  having  taken  the  blessing 
from  him  in  those  days. 

21.  And  when  Esau  saw  Jacob 
coming  to  his  father  and  mother  he 
remembered  what  Jacob  had  done 
to  him,  and  he  was  greatly  incensed 
against  him  and  he  sought  to  slay 
him . 

22.  And  Isaac  the  son  of  Abraham 
was  old  and  advanced  in  days,  and 
Esau  said,  now  my  father's  time  is 
drawing  nigh  that  he  must  die,  and 
when  he  shall  die  I  will  slay  my 
brother  Jacob. 

23.  And  this  was  told  to  Rebecca, 
and  she  hastened  and  sent  and  called 
for  Jacob  her  son,  and  she  said  unto 
him,  arise  go  and  flee  to  Haran  to 


my  brother  Laban  and  remain  there 
for  some  time,  until  thy  brother's 
anger  be  turned  from  thee  and  then 
shall  thou  come  back. 

24.  And  Isaac  called  unto  Jacob 
and  said  unto  him,  take  not  a  wife 
from  the  daughters  of  Canaan,  for 
thus  did  our  father  Abraham  com- 
mand us  according  to  the  word  of 
the  Lord  which  he  had  commanded 
him,  saying,  unto  thy  seed  will  I  give 
this  land  ;  if  thy  children  keep  my 
covenant  that  I  have  made  with  thee, 
then  will  I  also  perform  to  thy  child- 
ren that  which  I  have  spoken  unto 
thee  and  I  will  not  forsake  them. 

25.  Now  therefore  my  son  hearken 
to  my  voice,  to  all  that  I  shall  com- 
mand thee,  and  refrain  from  taking 
a  wife  from  amongst  the  daughters 
of  Canaan  ;  arise,  go  to  Haran  to  the 
house  of  Bethuel  thy  mother's 
father,  and  take  unto  thee  a  wife  from 
there  from  the  daughters  of  Laban 
thy  mother's  brother. 

26.  Therefore  take  heed  lest  thon 
shouldst  forget  the  Lord  thy  God 
and  all  his  ways  in  the  land  to  which 
thou  goest,  and  shouldst  get  con- 
nected with  the  people  of  the  land 
and  pursue  vanity  and  forsake  the 
Lord  thy  God. 

27.  But  when  thou  comest  to  the 
land  serve  there  the  Lord,  do  not 
turn  to  the  right  or  to  the  left  from  the 
way  which  I  commanded  thee  and 
which  thou  didst  learn. 

28.  And  may  the  Almighty  God 
grant  thee  favor  in  the  sight  of  the 
people  of  the  earth,  that  thou  mayest 
there  take  a  wife  according  1o  thy 
choice  ;  one  who  is  good  and  upright 
in  the  ways  of  the  Lord. 

29.  And  may  God  give  unto  thee 
and  thy  seed  the  blessing  of  thy 
father  Abraham,  and  make  thee 
fruitful  and  multiply  thee,  and  may- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


83 


est  thou  become  a  multitude  of 
people  in  the  land  whither  thou 
goest,  and  may  God  cause  thee  to 
return  to  this  land,  the  land  of  thy 
father's  dwelling,  with  children  and 
with  great  riches,  with  joy  and  with 
pleasure. 

30.  And  Isaac  finished  command- 
ing Jacob  and  blessing  him,  and  he 
gave  him  many  gifts,  together  with 
silver  and  gold,  and  he  sent  liim  away ; 
and  Jacob  hearkened  to  his  father 
and  mother ;  he  kissed  them  and 
arose  and  went  to  Padanaram,  and 
Jacob  was  seventy  seven  years  old 
when  he  went  out  from  the  land  of 
Canaan  from  Beersheba. 

31.  And  when  Jacob  w^ent  away 
to  go  to  Haran  Esau  called  unto  his 
son  Eliphaz,  and  secretly  spoke  unto 
him,  saying,  now  hasten,  take  thy 
sword  in  thy  hand  and  pursue  Jacob 
and  pass  before  him  in  the  road,  and 
lurk  for  him,  and  slay  him  with  thy 
sword  in  one  of  the  mountains,  and 
take  all  belonging  to  him  and  come 
back. 

32.  And  Eliphaz  the  son  of  Esau 
was  an  active  man  and  expert  with 
the  bow  as  his  father  had  taught  him, 
and  he  was  a  noted  hunter  in  the 
field  and  a  valiant  man. 

33.  And  Eliphaz  did  as  his  father 
had  commanded  him,  and  Eliphaz 
was  at  that  time  thirteen  years  old, 
and  Eliphaz  rose  up  and  went  and 
took  ten  of  his  mother's  brothers  with 
him  and  pursued  Jacob. 

34.  And  he  closely  followed  Ja- 
cob, and  he  lurked  for  him  in  the 
border  of  the  land  of  Canaan  oppo- 
site to  the  city  of  Shechem. 

35.  And  Jacob  saw  Eliphaz  and 
his  men  pursuing  him,  and  Jacob 
stood  still  in  the  place  in  which  he 
was  going,  in  order  to  know  what 
this  was,  for  he   did  not  know  the 


thing ;  and  Eliphaz  drew  his  sword 
and  Jie  went  on  advancing,  he  and 
his  men,  toward  Jacob  ;  and  Jacob 
said  unto  them,  what  is  to  do  with 
you  that  you  have  come  hither,  and 
what  meaneth  it  that  you  pursue  with 
your  swords. 

36.  And  Eliphaz  came  near  to  Ja- 
cob and  he  answered  and  said  unto  him, 
thus  did  my  father  command  me,  and 
now  therefore  J  will  not  deviate  from 
the  orders  which  my  father  gave  me ; 
and  when  Jacob  saw  that  Esau  had 
spoken  to  Eliphaz  to  employ  force 
Jacob  then  approached  and  suppli- 
cated Eliphaz  and  his  men,  saying 
to  him, 

37.  Behold  all  that  I  have  and 
which  my  father  and  mother  gave 
unto  me,  that  take  unto  thee  and  go 
from  me  and  do  not  slay  me,  and 
may  this  thing  be  accounted  unto 
thee  a  righteousness. 

38.  And  the  Lord  caused  Jacob 
to  find  favor  in  the  sight  of  Eliphaz 
the  son  of  Esau,  and  his  men,  and  they 
hearkened  to  the  voice  of  Jacob,  and 
they  did  not  put  him  to  death,  and 
Eliphaz  and  his  men  took  all  belong- 
ing to  Jacob  together  with  the  silver 
and  gold  that  he  had  brought  with 
him  from  Beersheba  ;  they  left  him 
nothing. 

39.  And  Eliphaz  and  his  men 
went  away  from  him  and  they  re- 
turned to  Esau  to  Beersheba,  and 
they  told  him  all  that  had  occurred 
to  them  with  Jacob,  and  they  gave 
him  all  that  they  had  taken  from 
Jacob. 

40.  And  Esau  was  indignant  at 
Eliphaz  his  son,  and  at  his  men  that 
were  with  him,  becaiise  they  had  not 
put  Jacob  to  death. 

41.  And  they  answered  and  said 
unto  Esau,  because  Jacob  supplica- 
ted us  in  this  matter  not  to  !*lay  him. 


84 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


our  pity  was  excited  toward  him,  and 
we  took  all  belonging  to  him  and 
brought  it  unto  thee  ;  and  Esau  took 
all  the  silver  and  gold  which  Ehphaz 
had  taken  from  Jacob  and  he  put 
them  by  in  his  house. 

42.  At  that  time  when  Esau  saw 
that  Isaac  had  blessed  Jacob,  and  had 
commanded  him,  saying,  thou  shalt 
not  take  a  wife  from  amongst  the 
daughters  of  Canaan,  and  that  the 
daughters  of  Canaan  were  bad  in  the 
sight  of  Isaac  and  Rebecca, 

43.  Then  he  went  to  the  house  of 
Ishmael  his  uncle,  and  in  addition  to 
his  other  wives  he  took  Machlath  the 
daughter  of  Ishmael,  the  sister  of 
Nebayoth,  for  a  wife. 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

1 .  And  Jacob  went  forth  continu- 
ing his  road  to  Haran,  and  he  came 
as  far  as  mount  Moriah,  and  he  tar- 
ried there  all  night  near  the  city  of 
Luz;  and  the  Lord  appeared  there 
unto  Jacob  on  that  night,  and  he  said 
unto  him,  I  am  the  Lord  God  of 
Abraham  and  the  God  of  Isaac  thy 
father ;  the  land  upon  which  thou 
liest  I  will  give  unto  thee  and  thy 
seed. 

2.  And  behold  I  am  with  thee  and 
will  keep  thee  wherever  thou  goest, 
and  I  will  multiply  thy  seed  as  the 
stars  of  Heaven,  and  I  will  cause  all 
thine  enemies  lo  fall  before  thee ; 
and  when  they  shall  make  war  with 
thee  they  shall  not  prevail  over  thee, 
and  I  will  bring  thee  again  unto  this 
land  with  joy,  with  children,  and 
with  great  riches. 

3.  And  Jacob  awoke  from  his 
sleep  and  he  rejoiced  greatly  at  the 
vision  which  he  had  seen  ;  and  he 
called  the  name  of  that  place  Bethel. 

4.  And  Jacob  rose  up  from  that 


place  quite  rejoiced,  and  when  he 
walked  his  feet  felt  light  to  him  for 
joy,  and  he  went  from  there  to  the 
land  of  the  children  of  the  East,  and 
he  returned  to  Haran  and  he  sat  by 
the  shepherd's  well. 

5.  And  he  there  found  some  men 
going  from  Haran  to  feed  their  flock, 
and  Jacob  made  inquiries  of  them, 
and  they  said,  we  are  from  Haran. 

6.  And  he  said  unto  them,  do  you 
know  Laban  the  son  of  Nahor  ?  and 
they  said  we  know  him  and  behold 
his  daughter  Rachel  is  coming  along 
to  feed  her  father's  flock. 

7.  Whilst  he  was  yet  speaking  with 
them,  Rachel  the  daughter  of  Laban 
came  to  feed  her  fathers  sheep,  for 
she  was  a  shepherdess. 

8.  And  when  Jacob  saw  Rachel 
the  daughter  of  Laban  his  mother's 
brother,  he  ran  and  kissed  her,  and 
lifted  up  his  voice  and  wept. 

9.  And  Jacob  told  Rachel  that  he 
was  the  son  of  Rebecca  her  father's 
sister,  and  Rachel  ran  and  told  her 
father,  and  Jacob  continued  to  cry 
because  he  had  nothing*  with  him  to 
bring  to  the  house  of  Laban. 

10.  And  when  Laban  heard  that 
his  sister's  son  Jacob  had  come,  he 
ran  and  kissed  him  and  embraced 
him  and  brought  him  into  the  house 
and  gave  him  bread,  and  he  ate. 

1 1 .  And  Jacob  related  to  Laban 
what  his  brother  Esau  had  done  to 
him,  and  what  his  son  Eliphaz  had 
done  to  him  in  the  road. 

12.  And  Jacob  resided  in  Laban's 
house  for  one  month,  and  Jacob  ate 
and  drank  in  the  house  of  Laban,  and 
afterward  Laban  said  unto  Jacob, 
tell  me  what  shall  be  thy  wages,  for 
how  canst  thou  serve  me  for  nought? 

13.  And  Laban  had  no  sons  but 

*  Having  been  robbed  on  the  road  by  Eli- 
phaz, the  6on  of  Esau. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


85 


only  daughters,  and  his  other  wives 
and  handmaids  were  still  barren  in 
those  days ;  and  these  are  the  names 
of  Laban's  daughters  which  his  wife 
Adinah  had  borne  unto  him ;  the 
name  of  the  elder  was  Lear  and  the 
name  of  the  younger  was  Rachel ; 
and  Leah  was  tender-eyed,  but  Ra- 
chel was  beautiful  and  well  favored, 
and  Jacob  loved  her. 

14.  And  Jacob  said  unto  Laban,  I 
will  serve  thee  seven  years  for  Ra- 
chel thy  younger  daughter  ;  and  La- 
ban  consented  to  this  and  Jacob 
served  Laban  seven  years  for  his 
daughter  Rachel. 

15.  And  in  the  second  year  of  Ja- 
cob's dwelling  in  Haran,  that  is  in 
the  seventy-ninth  year  of  the  life  of 
Jacob,  in  that  year  died  Eber  the  son 
of  Selah,  he  was  four  hundred  and 
sixty -four  years  old  at  his  death. 

16.  And  when  Jacob  heard  that 
Eber  was  dead  he  grieved  exceed- 
ingly, and  he  lamented  and  mourned 
over  him  many  days. 

17.  And  in  the  third  year  of  Ja- 
cob's dwelling  in  Haran,  Bosmath, 
the  daughter  of  Ishmael,  the  wife  of 
Esau,  bare  unto  him  a  son,  and  Esau 
called  his  name  Reuel. 

18.  And  in  the  fourth  year  of  Ja- 
cob's residence  in  the  house  of  La- 
ban, the  Lord  visited  Laban  and  re- 
membered him  on  account  of  Jacob, 
and  sons  were  born  unto  him,  and 
his  first  born  was  Beor,  his  second 
was  Alib,  and  the  third  was  Cho- 
rash. 

19.  And  the  Lord  gave  Laban 
riches  and  honor,  sons  and  daugh- 
ters, and  the  man  increased  greatly 
on  account  of  Jacob. 

20.  And  Jacob  in  those  days  serv- 
ed Laban  in  all  manner  of  work,  in 
the  house  and  in  the  field,  and  the 
blessing  of  the  Lord  was  in  edl  that 


belonged  to  Laban  in  the  house   and 
in  the  field. 

21.  And  in  the  fifth  year  died  Je- 
hudith,  the  daughter  of  Beeri,  the 
wife  of  Esau,  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 
and  she  had  no  sons  but  daughters 
only. 

22.  And  these  are  the  names  of 
her  daughters  which  she  bare  to 
Esau,  the  name  of  the  elder  was 
Marzith,  and  the  name  of  the  younger 
was  Puith. 

23.  And  when  Jehudilh  died,  Esau 
rose  up  and  went  to  Seir  to  hunt  in 
the  field,  as  usual,  and  Esau  dwelt 
in  the  land  of  Seir  for  a  long  time. 

24.  And  in  the  sixth  year  Esau 
took  for  a  wife,  in  addition  to  his  other 
wives,  Ahlibaraah,  the  daughter  of 
Zebeon  the  Hivite,  and  Esau  brought 
her  to  the  land  of  Canaan. 

25.  And  Ahlibamah  conceived  and 
bare  unto  Esau  three  sons,  Yeush, 
Yaalan  and  Korah. 

26.  And  in  those  days,  in  the  land 
of  Canaan,  there  was  a  quarrel  be- 
tween the  herdsmen  of  Esau  and  the 
herdsmen  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land  of  Canaan,  for  Esau's  cattle  and 
goods  were  too  abundant  for  him  to 
remain  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  in  his 
father's  house,  and  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan could  not  bear  him  on  account 
of  his  cattle. 

27.  And  when  Esau  saw  that  his 
quarrelling  increased  with  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  land  of  Canaan,  he  rose 
up  and  took  his  wives  and  his  sons 
and  his  daughters,  and  all  belonging 
to  him,  and  the  cattle  which  he  pos- 
sessed, and  all  his  property  that  he 
had  acquired  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 
and  he  went  away  from  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  land  to  the  land  of  Seir, 
and  Esau  and  all  belonging  to  him 
dwelt  in  the  land  of  Seir. 

28.  But  from  time  to  time  Esau 


86 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


would  go  and  see  his  father  and  mo- 
ther in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  Esau 
intermarried  with  the  Horites,  and 
he  gave  his  daughters  to  the  sons  of 
Seir,  the  Horite. 

29.  And  he  gave  his  elder  daugh- 
ter Marzith  to  Anah,  the  son  of  Ze- 
beon,  his  wife's  brother,  and  Puith 
he  gave  to  Azar,  the  son  of  Bilhan 
the  Horite  ;  and  Esau  dwelt  in  the 
mountain,  he  and  his  children,  and 
they  were  fruitful  and  multiplied. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

1.  And  in  the  seventh  year,  Ja- 
cob's service  which  he  served  Laban 
was  completed,  and  Jacob  said  unto 
Ijaban,  give  me  my  wife,  for  the  days 
of  my  service  are  fulfilled  ;  and  La- 
ban  did  so,  and  Laban  and  Jacob  as- 
sembled all  the  people  of  that  place 
and  they  made  a  feast. 

2.  And  in  the  evening  Laban  came 
to  the  house,  and  afterward  Jacob 
came  there  with  the  people  of  the 
feast,  and  Laban  extinguished  all  the 
lights  that  were  there  in  the  house. 

3.  And  Jacob  said  unto  Laban, 
wherefore  dost  thou  do  this  thing 
unto  us  ?  and  Laban  answered,  such 
is  our  custom  to  act  in  this  land. 

4.  And  afterward  Laban  took  his 
daughter  Leah,  and  he  brought  her 
to  Jacob,  and  he  came  to  her  and 
Jacob  did  not  know  that  she  was  Leah. 

5.  And  Laban  gave  his  daughter 
Leah  his  maid  Zilpah  for  a  hand- 
maid. 

6.  And  all  the  people  at  the  feast 
knew  what  Laban  had  done  to  Jacob, 
but  they  did  not  tell  the  thing  to  Ja- 
cob. 

7.  And  all  the  neighbors  came  that 
night  to  Jacob's  house,  and  they  ate 
and  drank  and  rejoiced,  and  played 
before  Leah  upon  timbrels,  and  with 


dances,*  and  they  responded  befoi'e 
Jacob,  Heleah,  Heleah.t 

8.  And  Jacob  heard  their  words 
but  did  not  understand  their  meaning, 
but  he  thought  such  might  be  their 
custom  in  this  land. 

9.  And  the  neighbors  spoke  these 
words  before  Jacob  during  the  night, 
and  all  the  lights  that  were  in  the 
house  Laban  had  that  night  extin- 
guished. 

10.  And  in  the  morning,  when 
daylight  appeared,  Jacob  turned  to 
his  wife  and  he  saw,  and  behold  it 
was  Leah  that  had  been  lying  in  his 
bosom,  and  Jacob  said,  behold  now 
I  know  what  the  neighbors  said  last 
night,  Heleah  they  said,  and  I  knew 
it  not. 

1 1 .  And  Jacob  called  unto  Laban^ 
and  said  unto  him,  what  is  this  that 
thou  didst  unto  me  ?  Surely  I  served 
thee  for  Rachel,  and  why  didst  thou 
deceive  me  and  didst  give  me  Leah  ? 

12.  And  Laban  answered  Jacob, 
saying,  not  so  is  it  done  in  our  place 
to  give  the  younger  before  the  elder ; 
now  therefore  if  thou  desirest  to  take 
her  sister  likewise,  take  her  unto  thee 
for  the  service  which  thou  wilt  serve 
me  for  another  seven  years. 

13.  And  Jacob  did  so,  and  he  also 
took  Rachel  for  a  wife,  and  he  served 
Laban  seven  years  more,  and  Jacob 
also  came  to  Rachel,  and  he  loved 
Rachel  more  than  Leah,  and  Laban 
gave  her  his  maid  Bilhah  for  a  hand- 
maid. 

14.  And  when  the  Lord  saw  that 
Leah  was  hated,  the  Lord  opened 
her  womb,  and  she  conceived  and 
bare  Jacob  four  sons  in  those  days. 

*  SriD  is  commonly  translated  a  dance,  but  it 
seems  by  this  book  that  it  must  have  been  a 
sort  of  musical  instrument. 

t  Composed  of  two  Hebrew  words,  dn'?  N'D 
He  Leah,  i.  e.,  she  is  Leah. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASIIER. 


87 


15.  And  these  are  their  names, 
Reuben,  Simeon,  Levi,  and  Judah, 
and  she  afterward  left  bearing. 

16.  And  at  that  time  Rachel  was 
barren,  and  she  had  no  offspring,  and 
Rachel  envied  her  sister  Leah,  and 
when  Rachel  saw  that  she  bare  no 
children  to  Jacob,  she  took  her  hand- 
maid Bilhah,  and  she  bare  Jacob  two 
sons,  Dan  and  Naphtali. 

17.  And  when  Leah  saw  that  she 
had  left  bearing,  she  also  took  her 
handmaid  Zilpah,  and  she  gave  her 
to  Jacob  for  a  wife,  and  Jacob  also 
came  to  Zilpah,  and  she  also  bare 
Jacob  two  sons.  Gad  and  Asher. 

18.  And  Leah  again  conceived 
and  bare  Jacob  in  those  days  two 
sons  and  one  daughter,  and  these  are 
their  names,  Issachar,  Zebulon,  and 
their  sister  Dinah. 

19.  And  Rachel  was  still  barren  in 
those  days,  and  Rachel  prayed  unto 
the  Lord  at  that  time,  and  she  said, 
O  Lord  God  remember  me  and  visit 
me,  I  beseech  thee,  for  now  my 
husband  will  cast  me  off,  for  I  have 
borne  him  no  children. 

20.  Now  O  Lord  God,  hear  my 
supplication  before  thee,  and  see 
my  affliction,  and  give  me  children 
like  one  of  the  handmaids,  that  I  may 
no  more  bear  my  reproach. 

21 .  And  God  heard  her  and  open- 
ed her  womb,  and  Rachel  conceived 
and  bare  a  son,  and  she  said  the 
Lord  has  taken  away  my  reproach, 
and  she  called  his  name  Joseph,  say- 
mg,  may  the  Lord  add  to  me  another 
son  ;  and  Jacob  was  ninety  one  years 
old  when  she  bare  him. 

22.  At  that  time  Jacob's  mother 
Rebecca  sent  her  nurse  Deborah  the 
daughter  of  Uz,  and  two  of  Isaac's 
servants  unto  Jacob. 

23.  And  they  came  to  Jacob  to 
Haran  and  they  said  unto  him,  Re- 


becca has  sent  us  to  thee  that  thou 
shalt  return  to  thy  father's  house  to 
the  land  of  Canaan ;  and  Jacob 
hearkened  unto  them  in  this  wiiich 
his  mother  had  spoken. 

24.  At  that  time,  the  other  seven 
years  which  Jacob  served  I^aban  for 
Rachel  were  completed,  and  it  was 
at  the  end  of  fourteen  years  that  he 
had  dwelt  in  Haran  that  Jacob  said 
unto  Laban,  give  me  my  wives  and 
send  me  away,  that  I  may  go  to  my 
land,  for  behold  my  mother  did  send 
unto  me  from  the  land  of  Canaan 
that  I  should  return  to  my  father's 
house. 

25.  And  Laban  said  unto  him, 
not  so  I  pray  thee ;  if  I  have  found 
favor  in  thy  sight  do  not  leave  me  ; 
appoint  me  thy  wages  and  I  will 
give  them,  and  remain  with  me. 

26.  And  Jacob  said  unto  him, 
this  is  what  thou  shalt  give  me  for 
wages,  that  I  shall  this  day  pass 
through  all  thy  flock  and  take  away 
from  them  every  lamb  that  is  speck- 
led and  spotted  and  such  as  are 
brown  amongst  the  sheep,  and 
amongst  the  goats,  and  if  thou  wilt 
do  this  thing  for  me  I  will  return 
and  feed  thy  flock  and  keep  them 
as  at  first. 

27.  And  Laban  did  so,  and  Laban 
removed  from  his  flock  all  that  Jacob 
had  said  and  gave  them  to  him. 

28.  And  Jacob  placed  all  that  he 
had  removed  from  Laban's  flock  in 
the  hands  of  his  sons,  and  Jacob 
was  feeding  the  remainder  of  La- 
ban's  flock. 

29.  And  when  the  servants  of 
Isaac  which  he  had  sent  unto  Jacob 
saw  that  Jacob  would  not  then  re- 
turn with  them  to  the  land  of  Canaan 
to  his  father,  they  then  went  away 
from  him,  and  they  returned  home^ 
to  the  land  of  Canaan.. 


88 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


30.  And  Deborah  remained  with 
Jacob  in  Haran,  and  she  did  not  re- 
turn with  ihe  servants  of  Isaac  to 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  Deborah 
resided  with  Jacob's  wives  and  child- 
ren in  Haran. 

31.  And  Jacob  served  Laban  six 
years  longer,  and  when  the  sheep 
brought  forth,  Jacob  removed  from 
them  such  as  were  speckled  and 
spotted,  as  he  had  determined  with 
Laban,  and  Jacob  did  so  at  Laban's 
for  six  years,  and  the  man  increased 
abundantly  and  he  had  cattle  and 
maid  servants,  and  men  servants, 
camels  and  asses. 

32.  And  Jacob  had  two  hundred 
drove  of  cattle,  and  his  cattle  were 
of  large  size  and  of  beautiful  appear- 
ance and  were  very  productive,  and  all 
the  famihes  of  the  sons  of  men  desired 
to  get  some  of  the  cattle  of  Jacob, 
for  they  were  exceedingly  pros- 
perous. 

33.  And  many  of  the  sons  of  men 
came  to  procure  some  of  Jacob's 
flock,  and  Jacob  gave  them  a  sheep 
for  a  man  servant  or  a  maid  servant 
or  for  an  ass  or  a  camel,  or  whatever 
Jacob  desired  from  them  they  gave 
him. 

34.  And  Jacob  obtained  riches 
and  honor  and  possessions  by  means 
of  these  transactions  with  the  sons 
of  men,  and  the  children  of  Laban 
envied  him  of  this  honor. 

35.  And  in  the  course  of  time  he 
heard  the  words  of  Laban's  sons, 
saying,  Jacob  has  taken  away  all 
that  was  our  father's,  and  of  that 
which  was  our  father's  has  he  ac- 
quired all  this  glory. 

36.  And  Jacob  beheld  the  counte- 
nance of  Laban  and  of  his  children, 
and  behold  it  was  not  toward  him  in 
those  days  as  it  had  been  before. 

And  the  Lord  appeared  to  Jacob 


at  the  expiration  of  the  six  years, 
and  said  unto  him,  arise  go  forth  out 
of  this  land,  and  return  to  the  land 
of  thy  birth  place  and  I  will  be  with 
thee. 

38.  And  Jacob  rose  up  at  that 
time  and  he  mounted  his  children 
and  wives  and  all  belonging  to  him 
upon  camels,  and  he  went  forth  to 
go  to  the  land  of  Canaan  to  his  father 
Isaac. 

29.  And  Laban  did  not  know  that 
Jacob  had  gone  from  him,  for  La- 
ban had  been  that  day  sheep  shear- 
ing. 

40.  And  Rachel  stole  her  father's 
images,  and  she  took  them  and  she 
concealed  them  upon  the  camel  upon 
which  she  sat,  and  she  went  on. 

41.  And  this  is  the  manner  of  the 
images  ;  in  taking  a  man  who  is  the 
first  born  and  slaying  him  and  taking 
the  hair  off  his  head,  then  taking  salt 
and  salting  the  head  and  anointing  it 
in  oil,  then  taking  a  small  tablet  of 
copper  or  a  tablet  of  gold  and  writing 
the  name  upon  it,  and  placing  the 
tablet  under  his  tongue,  and  taking 
the  head  with  the  tablet  under  the 
tongue  and  putting  it  in  the  house, 
and  lighting  up  lights  before  it  and 
bowing  down  to  it. 

42.  And  at  the  time  when  they 
bow  down  to  it,  it  speaketh  to  them 
in  all  matters  that  they  ask  of  it, 
through  the  power  of  the  name 
which  is  written  in  it. 

43.  And  some  make  them  in  the 
figures  of  men,  of  gold  and  silver, 
and  go  to  them  in  times  known  to 
them,  and  the  figures  receive  the 
influence  of  the  stars,  and  tell  them 
future  things,  and  in  this  manner 
were  the  images  which  Rachel  stole 
from  her  father. 

44.  And  Rachel  stole  those  im- 
ages  which   were   her  father's,   in 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


89 


order  that  Laban  might  not  know 
through  tiiem  where  Jacob  had  gone. 

45.  And  Laban  came  home  and 
he  asked  concerning  Jacob  and  liis 
household,  and   he   was   not   to   be 

found,  and  Laban  sought  his  images 
to  know  wiiere  Jacob  liad  gone,  and 
could  not  find  tJiem,  and  he  went  to 
some  other  images,  and  he  inquired 
of  them  and  they  told  him  that  Jacob 
had  fled  from  Inm  to  his  father's  to 
the  land  of  Canaan. 

46.  And  Lal)an  then  rose  up  and 
he  took  his  brothers  and  all  his  ser- 
vants, and  he  went  forth  and  pursued 
Jacob,  and  he  overtook  him  in  mount 
Gilead. 

47.  And  Laban  said  unto  Jacob, 
what  is  this  thou  hast  done  to  me  to 
flee  and  deceive*  me,  and  lead  my 
daughters  and  their  children  as  cap- 
tives taken  by  the  sword  ? 

48.  And  thou  didst  not  suffer  me 
to  kiss  them  and  send  them  away 
with  joy,  and  thou  didst  steal  my 
gods  and  didst  go  away. 

49.  And  Jacob  answered  Laban, 
saying,  because  I  was  afraid  lest  thou 
wouldst  take  thy  daughters  by  force 
from  me  ;  and  now  with  whomso- 
ever thou  findest  thy  gods  he  shall 
die. 

50.  And  Laban  searched  for  the 
images  and  he  examined  in  all  Ja- 
cob's tents  and  furniture,  but  could 
not  find  them. 

5L  And  Laban  said  unto  Jacob, 
we  will  make  a  covenant  together 
and  it  shall  be  a  testimony  between 
me  and  thee  ;  if  thou  shalt  afflict  my 
daughters,  or  shalt  take  other  wives 
besides  my  daughters,  even  God 
shall  be  a  witness  between  me  and 
thee  in  this  matter. 

52.  And  they  took  stones  and 
made  a  heap,  and  Laban  said,  this 

*  Hebrew,  steal  my  heart. 


heap  is  a  witness  between  me  and 
thee,  therefore  he  called  the  name 
thereof  Gilead. 

53.  And  Jacob  and  Laban  offered 
sacrifice  upon  the  mount,  and  they 
ate  there  by  the  heap,  and  they  tar- 
ried in  the  mount  all  night,  and  La- 
ban rose  up  early  in  the  morning, 
and  he  wept  with  his  daughters  and 
he  kissed  them,  and  he  returned  un- 
to liis  place. 

54.  And  he  hastened  and  sent  off 
his  son  Beor,  who  was  seventeen 
years  old,  with  Abichorof  the  son  of 
LJz,  the  son  of  Nahor,  and  with  them 
were  ten  men. 

55.  And  thev  hastened  and  went 
and  passed  on  the  road  before  Jacob, 
and  they  came  by  another  road  to 
the  land  of  Seir. 

56.  And  they  came  unto  Esau 
and  said  unto  him,  thus  saith  thy 
brother  and  relative,  thy  mother's 
brother  Laban,  the  son  of  Bethuel, 
saying, 

57.  Ilast  thou  heard  what  Jacob 
thy  brother  has  done  unto  mc,  who 
first  came  to  me  naked  and  bare,  and 
1  went  to  meet  him,  and  brought 
him  to  my  house  with  honor,  and  I 
made  him  great,  and  I  gave  him  my 
two  daughters  for  wives  and  also  two 
of  my  maids. 

58.  And  God  blessed  him  on  my 
account,  and  he  increased  abundant- 
ly, and  had  sons,  daughters  and  maid 
servants. 

59.  He  has  also  an  immense 
stock  of  flocks  and  herds,  camels  and 
asses,  also  silver  and  gold  in  abun- 
dance ;  and  when  he  saw  that  liis 
wealth  increased,  he  left  me  whilst  I 
went  to  shear  my  sheep,  and  he  rose 
up  and  fled  in  secrecy. 

60.  And  he  lifted  his  wives  and 
children  upon  camels,  and  he  led 
away   all  his    cattle   and    properly 


90 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


which  he  acquired  in  my  land,  and 
he  hfted  up  his  countenance  to  go  to 
his  father  Isaac  to  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan. 

61.  And  he  did  not  suffer  mc  to 
kiss  my  daughters  and  their  children, 
and  he  led  my  daughters  as  captives 
taken  by  the  sword,  and  he  also 
stole  my  gods  and  he  fled. 

62.  And  now  I  have  left  him  in 
the  mountain  of  the  brook  of  Jabuk, 
him  and  all  belonging  to  him  ;  he 
lacketh  nothing. 

63.  If  it  be  thy  wish  to  go  to  him, 
go  then  and  there  wilt  thou  find  him, 
and  thou  canst  do  unto  him  as  thy 
soul  desireth  ;  and  Laban's  messen- 
gers came  and'  told  Esau  all  these 
things. 

64.  And  Esau  heard  all  the  words 
of  Laban's  messengers,  and  his  an- 
ger was  greatly  kindled  against  Ja- 
cob, and  he  remembered  his  hatred 
and  his  anger  burned  within  him. 

65.  And  Esau  hastened  and  took 
his  children  and  servants  and  the 
souls  of  his  household,  heiyig  sixty 
men,  and  he  went  and  assembled  all 
the  children  of  Seir  the  Horite  and 
their  people,  being  three  hundred 
and  forty  men,  and  took  all  this  num- 
ber of  four  hundred  men  with  drawn 
swords,  and  he  went  unto  Jacob  to 
smite  him. 

66.  And  Esau  divided  this  num- 
ber into  several  parts,  and  he  took  the 
sixty  men  of  his  children  and  ser- 
vants and  the  souls  of  his  household 
as  one  head,  and  gave  them  in  care 
of  Eliphaz  his  eldest  son. 

67.  And  the  remaining  heads  he 
gave  to  the  care  of  the  six  sons  of 
Seir  the  Horite,  and  he  placed  every 
man  over  his  generations  and  child- 
ren. 

68  And  the  whole  of  this  camp 
went    as   it   was,    and    Esau   went 


amongst  them  toward  Jacob,  and  he 
conducted  them  with  speed. 

69.  And  Laban's  messengers  de- 
parted from  Esau  and  went  to  the 
land  of  Canaan,  and  they  came  to  the 
house  of  Rebecca  the  mother  of  Ja- 
cob and  Esau. 

70.  And  they  told  her,  saying,  be- 
hold thy  son  Esau  has  gone  against 
his  brother  Jacob  with  four  hundred 
men,  for  he  heard  that  he  was  com- 
ing, and  he  is  gone  to  make  war 
with  him,  and  to  smite  him  and  to 
take  all  that  he  has. 

71.  And  Rebecca  hastened  and 
sent  seventy  two  men  from  the  ser- 
vants of  Isaac  to  meet  Jacob  on  the 
road ;  for  she  said,  peradventure, 
Esau  may  make  war  in  the  road 
when  he  meets  him. 

72.  And  these  messengers  went 
on  the  road  to  meet  Jacob,  and  they 
met  liim  in  the  road  of  the  brook  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  brook  Jabuk, 
and  Jacob  said  when  he  saw  them, 
this  camp  is  destined  to  me  from  God, 
and  Jacob  called  the  name  of  that 
place  Machnayim. 

73.  And  Jacob  knew  all  his  fath- 
er's people,  and  he  kissed  them  and 
embraced  them  and  came  with  them, 
and  Jacob  asked  them  concerning 
his  father  and  mother,  and  they  said, 
they  were  well.* 

74.  And  these  messengers  said 
unto  Jacob,  Rebecca  tliy  mother  has 
sent  us  to  thee,  saying,  I  have  heard, 
my  son,  that  thy  brother  Esau  has 
gone  forth  against  thee  on  the  road 
with  men  from  the  children  of  Seir 
the  Horite. 

75.  And  therefore,  my  son,  hear- 
ken to  my  voice  and  see  with  thy 
counsel  what  thou  wilt  do,  and  when 
he  Cometh  up  to  thee,  supplicate  him, 
and  do  not  speak  rashly  to  him,  and 

*  Hebrew,  peace. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


91 


give  him  a  present  fx'om  what  thou 
possessest,  and  from  what  God  has 
favored  thee  with. 

76.  And  when  he  asketh  thee  con- 
cerning thy  affairs,  conceal  notliing 
from  liim,  perliaps  lie  may  turn  from 
his  anger  aijainst  thee  and  thou  wilt 
thereby  save  thy  soul,  thou  and  all 
belonging  to  thee,  for  it  is  thy  duty 
to  honor  him,  for  he  is  thy  elder 
brother. 

77.  And  when  Jacob  heard  the 
words  of  his  mother  which  the  mes- 
sengers had  spoken  to  him,  Jacob 
lifted  up  his  voice  and  wept  bitterly, 
and  did  as  his  mother  then  command- 
ed him. 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

1.  And  at  that  time  Jacob  sent 
messengers  to  his  brother  Esau  to- 
ward the  land  of  Seir,  and  he  spoke 
to  him  words  of  supplication. 

2.  And  he  commanded  them,  say- 
ing, thus  shall  ye  say  to  my  lord,  "to 
Esau,  thus  saith  thy  servant  Jacob, 
let  not  my  lord  imagine  that  my  fath- 
er's blessing  with  which  he  did  bless 
me  has  proved  beneficial  to  me. 

3.  For  I  have  been  these  twenty 
years  with  Laban,  and  he  deceived 
me  and  changed  my  wages  ten  times, 
as  it  has  all  been  already  told  unto 
my  lord. 

4.  And  I  served  him  in  his  house 
very  laboriously,  and  God  afterward 
saw  my  affliction,  my  labor  and  the 
work  of  my  hands,  and  he  caused 
me  to  find  grace  and  favor  in  his 
sight. 

5.  And  I  afterward  through  God's 
great  mercy  and  kindness  acquired 
oxen  and  asses  and  cattle,  and  men 
servants  and  maid  servants. 

6.  And  now  I  am  coming  to  my 
land  and  my  home  to  my  father  and 


mother,  who  arc  in  tlie  land  of 
Canaan  ;  and  I  have  sent  to  let  my 
lord  know  all  this  in  order  to  find 
favor  in  the  sight  of  my  lord,  so  that 
he  may  not  imagine  that  I  have  uf 
w?/.?e//"  obtained  wealth,  or  tiiat  the 
blessing  with  which  my  father  bless- 
ed me  has  benefited  me. 

7.  And  those  messengers  went  to 
Esau,  and  found  him  on  the  borders 
of  the  land  of  Edom  going  toward 
Jacob,  and  four  hundred  men  of  the 
children  of  Seir  the  Horitc  were 
standing  with  drawn  swords. 

8.  And  the  messengers  of  Jacob 
told  Esau  all  tiie  words  that  Jacob 
had  spoken  to  them  concerning 
Esau. 

9.  And  Esau  answered  thcni  with 
pride  and  contem})t,  and  said  unto 
them,  surely  I  have  heard  and  truly 
it  lias  been  told  unto  me  what  Jacob 
has  done  to  Laban,  who  exalted  him 
in  his  house  and  gave  him  his  daugh- 
ters for  wives,  and  he  begat  sons  and 
daughters,  and  abundantly  increased 
in  wealth  and  riches  in  Laban's 
house  through  his  means. 

10.  And  when  he  saw  that  his 
wealth  was  abundant  and  his  riches 
great  he  fled  with  all  belonging  to 
him,  from  Laban's  house^  and  he 
led  Laban's  daughters  away  from 
the  face  of  tiieir  father,  as  captives 
taken  by  the  sword,  without  telling 
him  of  it. 

1 1 .  And  not  only  to  Laban  has 
Jacob  done  thus  but  also  unto  me 
has  he  done  so,  and  has  twice  sup- 
planted me,  and  shall  I  be  silent  ? 

12.  Now  therefore  I  have  this  day 
come  with  my  camps  to  meet  him, 
and  I  will  do  unto  him  according  to 
the  desire  of  my  heart. 

13.  And  the  messengers  returned 
and  came  to  Jacob  and  said  unto 
him,   we    came    to  thy   brother,    to 


92 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


Esau,  and  we  told  him  all  thy  words, 
and  thus  has  he  answered  us,  and 
behold  he  cometh  to  meet  thee  with 
four  hundred  men. 

14.  Now  then  know  and  see  what 
thou  slialt  do,  and  pray  before  God 
to  deliver  thee  from  him. 

15.  And  when  he  heard  the  words 
of  his  brother  which  he  had  spoken 
to  the  messengers  of  Jacob,  Jacob 
was  greatly  afraid  and  he  was  dis- 
tressed. 

16.  And  Jacob  prayed  to  the  Lord 
his  God,  and  he  said,  0  Lord  God 
of  my  fathers,  Abraham  and  Isaac, 
thou  didst  say  unto  me  when  I  went 
away  from  my  father's  house,  say- 
ing, 

17.  I  am  the  Lord  God  of  thy 
father  Abraham  and  the  God  of 
Isaac,  unto  thee  do  I  give  this  land 
and  thy  seed  after  thee,  and  I  will 
make  thy  seed  as  the  stars  of  heaven, 
and  thou  shalt  spread  forth  to  the 
four  sides  of  heaven,  and  in  thee  and 
in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  families  of 
the  earth  be  blessed. 

18.  And  thou  didst  establish  thy 
words,  and  didst  give  unto  me  riches 
and  children  and  cattle,  as  the  ut- 
most wishes  of  my  heart  didst  thou 
give  unto  thy  servant ;  thou  didst 
give  unto  me  all  that  I  asked  from 
thee,  so  that  I  lacked  nothing. 

19.  And  thou  didst  afterward  say 
unto  me,  return  to  thy  parents  and 
to  thy  birth  place  and  I  will  still  do 
well  wiih  thee. 

20.  And  now  that  I  have  come, 
and  thou  didst  deliver  me  from  La- 
ban,  I  shall  fall  in  the  hands  of  Esau 
who  will  slay  me,  yea,  together  with 
the  mothers  of  my  children. 

21.  Now  therefore  0  Lord  God 
deliver  me,  I  pray  thee,  also  from 
the  hands  of  my  brother  Esau,  for  I 
am  greatly  afraid  of  him. 


22.  And  if  there  is  no  righteous- 
ness in  me,  do  it  for  the  sake  of  Abra- 
ham and  my  father  Isaac. 

23.  For  I  know  that  through  kind- 
ness and  mercy  have  I  acquired  this 
wealth;  now  therefore  I  beseech 
thee  to  deliver  me  this  day  with  thy 
kindness  and  to  answer  me. 

24.  And  Jacob  ceased  praying  to 
the  Lord,  and  he  divided  the  people 
that  were  with  him  with  the  flocks 
and  cattle  into  two  camps,  and  he 
gave  the  half  to  the  care  of  Damesek, 
the  son  of  Eliezer  Abraham's  ser- 
vant, for  a  camp,  with  his  children, 
and  the  other  half  he  gave  to  the  care 
of  his  brother  Eliaims  the  son  of 
Eliezer,  to  be  for  a  camp  with  his 
children. 

25.  And  he  commanded  them,  say- 
ing, keep  yourselves  at  a  distance 
with  your  camps,  and  do  not  come  too 
near  each  other,  and  if  Esau  come  to 
one  camp  and  slay  it,  the  other  camp 
at  a  distance  from  it  will  escape 
him. 

26.  And  Jacob  tamed  there  that 
night,  and  during  the  whole  night  he 
gave  his  servants  instructions  con- 
cerning the  forces  and  his  children. 

27.  And  the  Lord  heard  the  pray- 
er of  Jacob  on  that  day,  and  the 
Lord  then  delivered  Jacob  from  the 
hands  of  his  brother  Esau. 

28.  And  the  Lord  sent  three  an- 
gels of  the  angels  of  heaven,  and 
ihey  went  before  Esau  and  came  to 
him. 

29.  And  these  angels  appeared  un- 
to Esau  and  his  people  as  two  thou- 
sand men,  riding  upon  horses  fur- 
nished with  all  sorts  of  war  instru- 
ments, and  they  appeared  in  the 
sight  of  Esau  and  all  his  men  to  be 
divided  into  four  camps,  with  four 
chiefs  to  them. 

30.  And  one  camp  went  on  and 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


93 


they  found  Esau  coming  with  four 
hundred  men  toward  his  brother  Ja- 
cob, and  this  camp  ran  toward  Esau 
and  his  people  and  terrified  them, 
and  Esau  fell  off  the  horse  in  alarm, 
and  all  his  men  separated  from  him 
in  that  place,  for  they  were  greatly 
afraid. 

31.  And  the  whole  of  the  camp 
shouted  after  them  when  they  fled 
from  Esau,  and  all  the  warlike  men 
answered,  saying, 

32.  Surely  we  are  the  servants  of 
Jacob  ivJio  is  the  servant  of  God,  and 
who  then  can  stand  against  us  ?  And 
Esau  said  unto  them,  O  then,  my 
lord  and  brother  Jacob  is  your  lord, 
whom  I  have  not  seen  for  these  twen- 
ty years,  and  now  that  I  have  this 
day  come  to  see  him,  do  you  treat 
me  in  this  manner  ? 

33.  And  the  angels  answered  him, 
saying,  as  the  Lord  liveth,  were  not 
Jacob  of  whom  thou  spokest  thy  bro- 
ther, we  had  not  left  one  remaining 
fiom  thee  and  thy  people,  but  only 
on  account  of  Jacob  we  will  do  no- 
thing to  them. 

34.  And  this  camp  passed  from 
Esau  and  his  men  and  it  went  away, 
and  Esau  and  his  men  had  gone  from 
them  about  a  league  when  the  second 
camp  came  toward  him  with  all  sorts 
of  weapons,  and  they  also  did  unto 
Esau  and  his  men  as  the  first  camp 
had  done  to  them. 

35.  And  when  they  had  left  it  to 
go  on,  behold  the  third  camp  came 
toward  him  and  they  were  all  terri- 
fied, and  Esau  fell  off  the  horse,  and 
the  whole  camp  cried  out,  and  said, 
surely  we  are  the  servants  of  Jacob, 
who  is  the  servant  of  God,  and  who 
can  stand  against  us  ? 

36.  And  Esau  again  answered 
them,  saying,  O  then,  Jacob  my  lord 
and  your  lord  is  my  brother,  and  for 


twenty  years  I  have  not  seen  his 
countenance,  and  hearing  this  day 
that  he  was  coming,  I  went  this  day 
to  meet  him,  and  do  you  treat  me  in 
this  manner? 

37.  And  they  answered  him,  and 
said  unto  him,  as  the  Lord  liveth, 
were  not  Jacob  thy  brother  as  thou 
didst  say,  we  had  not  left  a  remnant 
from  thee  and  thy  men,  but  on  ac- 
count of  Jacob  of  whom  thou  spokest 
being  thy  brother,  we  will  not  med- 
dle with  thee  or  thy  men. 

38.  And  the  third  camp  also  passed 
from  them,  and  he  still  continued  his 
road  Avith  his  men  toward  Jacob, 
when  the  fourth  camp  came  toward 
him,  and  they  also  did  unto  him  and 
his  men  as  the  others  had  done. 

39.  And  when  Esau  beheld  the 
evil*  which  the  four  angels  had  done 
to  him  and  to  his  men,  he  became 
greatly  afraid  of  his  brother  Jacob, 
and  he  went  to  meet  him  in  peace. 

40.  And  Esau  concealed  his  lia- 
tred  against  Jacob,  because  he  was 
afraid  of  his  life  on  account  of  his 
brother  Jacob,  and  because  he  ima- 
gined that  the  four  camps  that  he 
had  lighted  upon  were  Jacob's  ser- 
vants. 

41.  And  Jacob  tarried  that  night 
with  his  servants  in  their  camps,  and 
he  resolved  with  his  servants  to  give 
unto  Esau  a  present  from  all  that  he 
had  with  him,  and  from  all  his  pro- 
perty ;  and  Jacob  rose  up  in  the 
morning,  he  and  his  men,  and  they 
chose  from  amongst  the  cattle  a  pre- 
sent for  Esau. 

42.  And  this  is  the  amount  of  the 
present  which  Jacob  chose  from  his 
flock  to  give  unto  his  brother  Esau  ; 
and  he  selected  two  hundred  and  forty 

♦Although  they  tlid  no  actual  injury  to  them, 
they  caused  great  alarm  and  confu.sion  to  Esau 
and  his  people ;  this  is  the  evil  alluded  to. 


94 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


head  from  the  flocks,  and  he  selected 
from  the  camels  and  asses  thirty  each, 
and  of  the  herds  he  chose  fifty  kine. 

43.  And  he  put  them  all  in  ten 
droves,  and  he  placed  each  sort  by 
itself,  and  he  delivered  them  into  the 
hands  of  ten  of  his  servants,  each 
drove  by  itself. 

44.  And  he  commanded  them,  and 
said  unto  them,  keep  yourselves  at 
a  distance  from  each  other,  and  put 
a  space  between  the  droves,  and 
when  Esau  and  those  who  are  with 
him  shall  meet  you  and  ask  you, 
saying,  whose  are  you,  and  whither 
do  you  go,  and  to  whom  belongeth 
all  this  before  you,  you  shall  say 
imto  them,  we  are  the  servants  of 
Jacob,  and  we  come  to  meet  Esau 
in  peace,  and  behold  Jacob  cometh 
behind  us. 

45.  And  that  which  is  before  us  is 
a  present  sent  from  Jacob  to  his  bro- 
ther Esau. 

46.  And  if  they  shall  say  unto 
you,  why  doth  he  delay  behind  you, 
from  coming  to  meet  his  brother  and 
to  see  his  face,  then  you  shall  say 
unto  them,  surely  he  cometh  joyfully 
behind  us  to  meet  his  brother,  for  he 
said,  I  will  appease  him  with  the 
present  that  goeth  to  him,  and  after 
this  I  will  see  his  face,  peradventure 
he  will  accept  of  me. 

47.  So  the  whole  present  passed 
on  in  the  hands  of  his  servants,  and 
went  before  him  on  that  day,  and  he 
lodged  that  night  with  his  camps  by 
the  border  of  the  brook  of  Jabuk, 
and  he  rose  up  in  the  midst  of  the 
night,  and  he  took  his  wives  and  his 
maid  servants,  and  all  belonging  to 
him,  and  he  that  night  passed  them 
over  the  ford  Jabuk. 

48.  And  when  he  had  passed  all 
belonging  to  him  over  the  brook,  Ja- 
cob was  •  left  by  himself,  and  a  man 


met  him,  and  he  wrestled  with  him 
that  night  until  the  breaking  of  the 
day,  and  the  hollow  of  Jacob's  thigh 
was  out  of  joint  through  wrestling 
with  him. 

49.  And  at  the  break  of  day  the 
man  left  Jacob  there,  and  he  blessed 
him  and  went  away,  and  Jacob  pass- 
ed the  brook  at  the  break  of  day,  and 
he  halted  upon  his  thigh. 

50.  And  the  svm  rose  upon  him 
when  he  had  passed  the  brook,  and 
he  came  up  to  the  place  of  his  cattle 
and  children. 

51.  And  they  went  on  till  midday, 
and  whilst  they  were  going  the  pre- 
sent was  passing  on  before  them. 

52.  And  Jacob  lifted  up  his  eyes 
and  looked,  and  behold  Esau  was  at 
a  distance,  coming  along  with  many 
men,  about  four  hundred,  and  Jacob 
was  greatly  afraid  of  his  brother. 

53.  And  Jacob  hastened  and  di- 
vided his  children  unto  his  wives 
and  his  handmaids,  and  his  daughter 
Dinah  he  put  in  a  chest,  and  deliver- 
ed her  into  the  hands  of  his  servants. 

54.  And  he  passed  before  his  chil- 
dren and  wives  to  meet  his  brother, 
and  he  bowed  down  to  the  ground, 
yea  he  bowed  down  seven  times  un- 
til he  approached  his  brother,  and 
God  caused  Jacob  to  find  grace  and 
favor  in  the  sight  of  Esau  and  his 
men,  for  God  had  heard  the  prayer 
of  Jacob. 

55.  And  the  fear  of  Jacob  and  his 
terror  fell  upon  his  brother  Esau,  for 
Esau  was  greatly  afraid  of  Jacob  for 
what  the  angels  of  God  had  done  to 
Esau,  and  Esau's  anger  against  Ja- 
cob was  turned  into  kindness. 

56.  And  when  Esau  saw  Jacob 
running  toward  him,  he  also  ran  to- 
ward him  and  he  embraced  him,  and 
he  fell  upon  his  neck,  and  they  kissed 
and  they  wept. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


95 


57.  And  God  put  fear  and  kind- 
ness toward  Jacob  in  the  hearts  of 
the  men  that  came  with  Esau,  and 
they  also  kissed  Jacob  and  embraced 
him. 

58.  And  also  Eliphaz,  the  son  of 
Esau,  with  his  four  brothers,  sons 
of  Esau,  wept  with  Jacob,  and  they 
kissed  him  and  embraced  him,  for 
the  fear  of  Jacob  had  fallen  upon 
them  all. 

59.  And  Esau  lifted  up  his  eyes 
and  saw  the  women  with  their  off- 
spring, the  children  of  Jacob,  walk- 
ing behind  Jacob  and  bowing  along 
the  road  to  Esau. 

60.  And  Esau  said  unto  Jacob, 
who  are  these  with  thee  my  brother  ? 
are  they  thy  children  or  thy  servants  ? 
and  Jacob  answered  Esau  and  said, 
they  are  my  children  which  God 
hath  graciously  given  to  thy  servant. 

61.  And  whilst  Jacob  was  speak- 
ing to  Esau  and  his  men,  Esau  be- 
held the  whole  camp,  and  he  said 
unto  Jacob,  whence  didst  thou  get 
the  whole  of  the  camp  that  I  met 
yesternight  ?  and  Jacob  said,  to  find 
favor  in  the  sight  of  my  Lord,  it  is 
that  which  God  graciously  gave  to 
thy  servant. 

62.  And  the  present  came  before 
Esau,  and  Jacob  pressed  Esau,  say- 
ing, take  I  pray  thee  the  present 
that  I  have  brought  to  my  lord,  and 
Esau  said,  wherefore  is  this  my  pur- 
pose ?  keep  that  which  thou  hast 
unto  thyself. 

63.  And  Jacob  said,  it  is  incum- 
bent upon  me  to  give  all  this,  since 
I  have  seen  thy  face,  that  thou  still 
livest  in  peace. 

64.  And  Esau  refused  to  take  the 
present,  and  Jacob  said  unto  him,  I 
beseech  thee  my  lord,  if  now  I  have 
found  favor  in  thy  sight,  then  receive 
my  present  at  my  hand,  for  I  have 


therefore  seen  thy  face,  as  though  I 
had  seen  a  god-like  face,  because 
thou  wast  pleased  with  me. 

65.  And  Esau  took  the  present, 
and  Jacob  also  gave  unto  Esau  silver 
and  gold  and  bdellium,  for  he  press- 
ed iiim  so  much  that  he  took  tlietti. 

66.  And  Esau  divided  the  cattle 
that  was  in  the  camp,  and  he  gave 
the  half  to  the  men  who  had  come 
with  him,  for  they  had  come  on  hire, 
and  the  other  half  he  delivered  unto 
the  hands  of  his  children. 

67.  And  liie  silver  and  gold  and 
bdellium  he  gave  in  the  hands  of  Eli- 
phaz his  eldest  son,  and  Esau  said 
unto  Jacob,  let  us  remain  with  thee, 
and  we  will  go  slowly  along  with 
thee  until  thou  comest  to  my  place 
with  me,  that  we  may  dwell  there 
together. 

68.  And  Jacob  answered  his  bro- 
ther and  said,  I  would  do  as  my  lord 
speaketh  unto  me,  but  my  lord  know- 
elh  that  the  children  are  tender,  and 
the  flocks  and  herds  with  their  young 
who  are  with  me,  go  but  slowly,  for 
if  they  went  swiftly  they  would  all 
die,  for  thou  knowest  their  burdens 
and  their  fatigue. 

69.  Therefore  let  my  lord  pass  on 
before  his  servant,  and  I  will  go  on 
slowly  for  the  sake  of  the  children 
and  the  flock,  until  I  come  to  my 
lord's  place  to  Seir. 

70.  And  Esau  said  unto  Jacob,  I 
will  place  with  thee  some  of  the^ 
people  that  are  with  me  to  take  care 
of  thee  in  the  road,  and  to  bear  thy 
fatigue  and  burden,  and  he  said, 
what  necdelh  it  my  lord,  if  I  may 
find  grace  in  thy  sight  ? 

71.  Behold  I  will  come  unto  thee 
to  Seir  to  dwell  there  together  as 
thou  hast  spoken,  go  thou  then  with 
thy  people  for  I  will  follow  thee. 

72.  And  Jacob  said  this  to  Esau 


96 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


in  order  to  remove  Esau  and  his  men 
from  him,  so  that  Jacob  might  after- 
ward go  to  his  father's  house  to  the 
land  of  Canaan. 

73.  And  Esau  hearkened  to  the 
voice  of  Jacob,  and  Esau  returned 
with  the  four  hundred  men  that  were 
with  him  on  their  road  to  Seir,  and 
Jacob  and  all  belonging  to  him  went 
that  day  as  far  as  the  extremity  of 
the  land  of  Canaan  in  its  borders, 
and  he  remained  there  some  time. 

CHAPTER  XXXTII. 

1 .  And  in  some  time  after  Jacob 
went  away  from  the  borders  of  the 
land,  and  he  came  to  the  land  of 
Shalem,  that  is  the  city  of  Shechem, 
which  is  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and 
he  rested  in  front  of  the  city. 

2.  And  he  bought  a  parcel  of  the 
field  which  was  there,  from  the  child- 
ren of  Hamor  the  people  of  the  land, 
for  five  shekels. 

3.  And  Jacob  there  built  himself 
a  house,  and  he  pitched  his  tent 
there,  and  he  made  booths  for  his 
cattle,  therefore  he  called  the  name 
of  that  place  Succoth, 

4.  And  Jacob  remained  in  Suc- 
coth a  year  and  six  months. 

5.  At  that  time  some  of  the  women 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  went  to 
the  city  of  Shechem  to  dance  and 
rejoice  with  the  daughters  of  the 
people  of  the  city,  and  when  they 
went  forth  then  Rachel  and  Leah 
the  wives  of  Jacob  with  their  families 
also  went  to  behold  the  rejoicing  of 
the  daughters  of  the  city. 

6.  And  Dinah  the  daughter  of 
Jacob  also  went  along  with  them 
and  saw  the  daughters  of  the  city, 
and  they  remained  there  before  these 
daughters  whilst  all  the  people  of  the 
city  were  standing  by  them  to  be- 


hold their    rejoicings,   and    all   the 
great  people  of  the  city  were  there. 

7.  And  Shechem  the  son  of 
Hamor  the  prince  of  the  land  was 
also  standing  there  to  see  them. 

8.  And  Shechem  beheld  Dinah 
the  daughter  of  Jacob  sitting  with 
her  mother  before  the  daughters  of 
the  city,  and  the  damsel  pleased  him 
greatly,  and  he  there  asked  his 
friends  and  his  people,  saying,  whose 
daughter  is  that  sitting  amongst  the 
women,  whom  I  do  not  know  in  this 
city  ? 

9.  And  they  said  unto  him,  surely 
this  is  the  daughter  of  Jacob  the  son 
of  Isaac  the  Hebrew,  who  has  dwelt 
in  this  city  for  some  time,  and  when 
it  was  reported  that  the  daughters  of 
the  land  were  going  forth  to  rejoice 
she  went  with  her  mother  and  maid 
servants  to  sit  amongst  them  as  thou 
seest. 

10.  And  Shechem  beheld  Dinah 
the  daughter  of  Jacob,  and  when  he 
looked  at  her  his  soul  became  fixed 
upon  Dinah. 

11.  And  he  sent  and  had  her 
taken  by  force,  and  Dinah  came  to 
the  house  of  Shechem  and  he  seiz- 
ed her  forcibly  and  lay  with  her  and 
humbled*  her,  and  he  loved  her  ex- 
ceedingly and  placed  her  in  his 
house. 

12.  And  they  came  and  told  the 
thing  unto  Jacob,  and  when  Jacob 
heard  that  Shechem  had  defiled  his 
daughter  Dinah,  Jacob  sent  twelve 
of  his  servants  to  fetch  Dinah  from 
the  house  of  Shechem,  and  they 
went  and  came  to  the  house  of 
Shechem  to  take  away  Dinah  from 
there. 

13.  And  when  they  came  Shechem 
went  out  to  them  with  his  men  and 

*  Translated  in  the  Bible,  "  and  he  defiled 
her."     Genesis,  ch.  34,  v.  2. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


97 


drove  them  from  his  house,  and  he 
would  not  suffer  them  to  come  before 
Dinah,  but  Shechem  was  silting  with 
Dinah  kissing  and  embracing  her 
before  their  eves. 

14.  And  tlie  servants  of  Jacob 
came  back  and  told  him,  saying, 
when  we  came,  he  and  his  men 
drove  us  away,  and  thus  did  fShechem 
do  unto  Dinah  before  our  eves. 

15.  And  Jacob  knew  moreover 
that  Shechem  had  defiled  his  daugh- 
ter, but  he  said  nothing,  and  his  sons 
were  feeding  his  cattle  in  the  field, 
and  Jacob  remained  silent  till  their 
return. 

16.  And  before  his  sons  came 
home  Jacob  sent  two  maidens  from 
his  servants'  daughters  to  take  care 
of  Dinah  in  the  house  of  Shechem, 
and  to  remain  with  her,  and  Shechem 
sent  three  of  his  friends  to  his  father 
Hamor  the  son  of  Chiddckem,  the 
son  of  Pered,  saying,  get  me  this 
damsel  for  a  wife. 

17.  And  Hamor  the  son  of  Chid- 
dekem  the  Hivite  came  to  the  house 
of  Shechem  his  son,  and  he  sat  be- 
fore him,  and  Hamor  said  unto  his 
son,  Shechem,  is  there  then  no 
woman  amoi^gst  the  daughters  of  thy 
people  that  thou  wilt  take  an  Hebrew 
woman  who  is  not  of  thy  people  ? 

18.  And  Shechem  said  to  him, 
her  only  must  thou  get  for  me,  for 
she  is  delightful  in  my  sight ;  and 
Hamor  did  according  to  the  word  of 
his  son,  foi;  he  was  greatly  beloved 
by  him. 

19.  And  Hamor  went  forth  to 
Jacob  to  commune  with  him  con- 
cerning this  matter,  and  when  he  had 
gone  from  the  house  of  his  son 
Shechem,  before  he  came  to  Jacob 
to  speak  unto  him,  behold  the  sons 
of  Jacob  had  come  from  the  field,  as 
soon  as  they  heard  the  thing  that 

7 


Shechem   the   son   of   Hamor   had 
done. 

20.  And  the  men  were  very  much 
grieved  concerning  their  sister,  and 
they  all  came  home  fired  witii  anger, 
before  the  time  of  gathering  in  their 
cattle. 

21.  And  they  came  and  sat  before 
their  father  and  they  spoke  unto  him 
kindled  with  wrath,  saying,  surely 
death  is  due  to  this  man  and  to  his 
household,  because  the  Lord  God  of 
the  whole  earth  commanded  Noah 
and  his  children  that  man  shall  never 
rob,  nor  commit  adultery  ;  now  be- 
hold Shechem  has  both  ravaged  and 
committed  fornication  with  our  sister, 
and  not  one  of  all  ihe  people  of  the 
city  spoke  a  word  to  him. 

22.  Surely  thou  knowest  and  an- 
derstandest  that  the  judgment  of 
death  is  due  to  Shechem,  and  to  his 
father,  and  to  the  whole  city  on  ac- 
count of  the  thing  which  he  has  done. 

23.  And  whilst  they  were  speak- 
ing before  their  father  in  this  matter, 
behold  Hamor  the  father  of  She- 
chem came  to  speak  to  Jacob  the 
words  of  his  son  concerning  Dinah, 
and  he  sat  before  Jacob  and  before 
his  sons. 

24.  And  Hamor  spoke  unto  them, 
saying,  the  soul  of  my  son  Shechem 
longeth  for  your  daughter ;  I  pray 
you  give  her  unto  him  for  a  wife  and 
intermarry  with  us;  give  us  your 
daughters  and  we  will  give  you  our 
daughters,  and  you  shall  dwell  with 
us  in  our  land  and  we  will  be  as  one 
people  in  the  land. 

25.  For  our  land  is  very  exten- 
sive, so  dwell  ye  and  trade  therein 
and  get  possessions  in  it,  and  do 
therein  as  you  desire,  and  no  one 
shall  prevent  you  by  saying  a  word 
to  you. 

26.  And  Hamor  ceased  speakmg 


98 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


unto  Jacob  and  his  sons,  and  behold 
Shechem  his  son  had  come  after 
him,  and  he  sat  before  them. 

27.  And  Shechem  spoke  before 
Jacob  and  his  sons,  saying,  may  I 
find  favor  in  your  sight  that  you  will 
give  me  your  daughter,  and  what- 
ever you  say  unto  me  that  will  I  do 
for  her. 

28.  Ask  me  for  abundance  of 
dowry  and  gift,  and  I  will  give  it, 
and  whatever  you  shall  say  unto  me 
that  will  I  do,  and  whoever  he  be 
that  will  rebel  against  your  orders, 
he  shall  die ;  only  give  me  the  damsel 
for  a  wife. 

29.  And  Simeon  and  Levi  answer- 
ed Hamor  and  Shechem  his  son  de- 
ceitfully, saying,  all  you  have  spoken 
unto  us  we  will  do  for  you. 

30.  And  behold  our  sister  is  in 
your  house,  but  keep  away  from  her 
until  we  send  to  our  father  Isaac 
concerning  this  matter,  for  we  can 
do  nothing  without  his  consent. 

31.  For  he  knoweth  the  ways  of 
our  father  Abraham,  and  whatever 
he  sayeth  unto  us  we  will  tell  you, 
we  will  conceal  nothing  from  you. 

32.  And  Simeon  and  Levi  spoke 
this  unto  Shechem  and  his  father  in 
order  to  find  a  pretext,  and  to  seek 
counsel  what  was  to  be  done  to  She- 
chem and  to  his  city  in  this  matter. 

33.  And  when  Shechem  and  his 
father  heard  the  words  of  Simeon 
and  Levi,  it  seemed  good  in  their 
sight,  aud  Shechem  and  his  father 
came  forth  to  go  home. 

34.  And  when  they  had  gone,  the 
sons  of  Jacob  said  unto  their  father, 
saying,  behold,  we  know  that  death 
is  due  to  these  wicked  ones  and  to 
their  city,  because  they  transgressed 
that  which  God  had  commanded  un- 
to Noah  and  his  children  and  his 
seed  after  them. 


35.  And  also  because  Shechem 
did  this  thing  to  our  sister  Dinah 
in  defiling  her,  for  such  vileness 
shall  never  be  done  amongst  us. 

36.  Now  therefore  know  and  see 
what  you  will  do,  and  seek  counsel 
and  pretext  what  is  to  be  done  to 
them,  in  order  to  kill  all  the  inhabi- 
tants of  this  city. 

37.  And  Simeon  said  to  them, 
here  is  a  proper  advice  for  you  ;  tell 
them  to  circumcise  every  male 
amongst  them  as  we  are  circumcis- 
ed, and  if  they  do  not  wish  to  do 
this,  we  shall  take  our  daughter  from 
them  and  go  away. 

38.  And  if  they  consent  to  do  this 
and  will  do  it,  then  when  they  are 
su7ik  down  with  pain,  we  will  attack 
them  with  our  swords,  as  upon  one 
who  is  quiet  and  peaceable,  and  we 
will  slay  every  male  person  amongst 
them. 

39.  And  Simeon's  advice  pleased 
them,  and  Simeon  and  Levi  resolved 
to  do  unto  them  as  it  was  proposed. 

40.  And  on  the  next  morning  She- 
chem and  Hamor  his  father  came 
again  unto  Jacob  and  his  sons,  to 
speak  concerning  Dinah,  and  to  hear 
what  answer  the  sons  of  Jacob  would 
give  to  their  words. 

41.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  spoke 
deceitfully  to  them,  saying,  we  told 
our  father  Isaac  all  your  words,  and 
your  words  pleased  him, 

42.  But  he  spoke  unto  us,  saying, 
thus  did  Abraham  his  father  com- 
mand him  from  God  the  Lord  of  the 
whole  earth,  that  any  man  who  is  not 
of  his  descendants  that  should  wish 
to  take  one  of  his  daughters,  shall 
cause  every  male  belonging  to  him 
to  be  circumcised,  as  we  are  circum- 
cised, and  then  we  may  give  him  our 
daughter  for  a  wife. 

43.  Now  we  have  made  known  to 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


99 


you  all  our  ways  that  our  father 
spoke  unto  us.  for  we  cannot  do  this 
of  which  you  spoke  unto  us,  to  give 
our  daughter  to  an  uncircumcised 
man,  for  it  is  a  disgrace  to  us. 

44.  But  herein  will  we  consent  to 
you,  to  give  you  our  daughter,  and 
we  will  also  take  unto  ourselves 
your  daughters,  and  will  dwell 
amongst  you  and  be  one  people  as 
you  have  spoken,  if  you  will  hearken 
to  us,  and  consent  to  be  like  us,  to 
circumcise  every  male  belonging  to 
you,  as  we  are  circumcised. 

45.  And  if  you  will  not  hearken 
unto  us,  to  have  every  male  circum- 
cised as  we  are  circumcised,  as  we 
have  commanded,  then  we  will  come 
to  you,  and  take  our  daughter  from 
you  and  go  away. 

46.  And  Shechem  and  his  father 
Hamor  heard  the  words  of  the  sons 
of  Jacob,  and  the  thing  pleased  them 
exceedingly,  and  Shechem  and  his 
father  Hamor  hastened  to  do  the 
wishes  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  for  She- 
chem was  very  fond  of  Dinah,  and 
his  soul  was  rivetted  to  her. 

47.  And  Shechem  and  his  father 
Hamor  hastened  to  the  gate  of  the 
city,  and  they  assembled  all  the  men 
of  their  city  and  spoke  unto  them 
the  words  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  saying, 

48.  We  came  to  these  men,  the 
sons  of  Jacob,  and  we  spoke  unto 
them  concerning  their  daughter,  and 
these  men  will  consent  to  do  accord- 
ing to  our  wishes,  and  behold  our 
land  is  of  great  extent  for  them,  and 
they  will  dwell  in  it,  and  trade  in  it, 
and  we  shall  be  one  people  ;  we  will 
take  their  daughters,  and  our  daugh- 
ters we  will  give  unto  them  for 
wives. 

49.  But  only  on  this  condition 
will  t.he§e  men  consent  to  do  this 
thing ;  that  every  male  amongst  us 


be  circumcised  as  they  are  circum- 
cised, as  their  God  commanded  them, 
and  when  we  shall  have  done  accord- 
ing to  their  instructions  to  be  circum- 
cised, then  will  they  dwell  amongst 
us,  together  with  their  cattle  and 
possessions,  and  we  shall  be  as  one 
people  with  them. 

50.  And  when  all  the  men  of  the 
city  heard  the  words  of  Shechem 
and  his  father  Hamor,  then  all  the 
men  of  their  city  were  agreeable  to 
this  proposal,  and  they  obeyed  to  be 
circumcised,  for  Shechem  and  his 
father  Hamor  were  greatly  esteemed 
by  them,  being  the  princes  of  the 
land. 

51.  And  on  the  next  day,  She- 
chem and  Hamor  his  father  rose  up 
early  in  the  morning,  and  they  as- 
sembled all  the  men  of  their  city  in- 
to the  middle  of  the  city,  and  they 
called  for  the  sons  of  Jacob,  who  cir- 
numcised  every  male  belonging  to 
them  on  that  day  and  the  next. 

52.  And  they  circumcised  She- 
chem and  Hamor  his  father,  and  the 
five  brothers  of  Shechem,  and  then 
every  one  rose  up  and  went  home, 
for  this  thing  was  from  the  Lord 
against  the  city  of  Shechem,  and 
from  the  Lord  was  Simeon's  coun- 
sel in  this  matter,  in  order  that  the 
Lord  might  deliver  the  city  of  She- 
chem into  the  hands  of  Jacob's  two 
sons. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

1.  Andthenumber  of  all  the  males 
that  were  circumcised,  were  six  hun- 
dred and  forty-five  men,  and  two 
hundred  and  forty-six  children. 

2.  But  Chiddekem,  son  of  Pered, 
the  father  of  Hamor,  and  his  six 
brothers,  would  not  listen  unto  She- 
chem and  his  father  Hamor,  and  tliey 


100 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


would  not  be  circumcised,  for  the 
proposal  of  the  sons  of  Jacob  was 
loathsome  in  their  sight,  and  their 
anger  was  greatly  roused  at  this, 
that  the  people  of  the  city  had  not 
hearkened  to  them. 

3.  And  in  the  evening  of  the  sec- 
ond day,  they  found  eight  small  chil- 
dren who  had  not  been  circumcised, 
for  their  mothers  had  concealed  them 
from  Shechem  and  his  father  Hamor, 
and  from  the  men  of  the  city. 

4.  And  Shechem  and  his  father 
Hamor  sent  to  have  them  brought  be- 
fore them  to  be  circumcised,  when 
Chiddekem  and  his  six  brothers 
sprang  at  them  with  their  swords, 
and  sought  to  slay  them. 

5.  And  they  sought  to  slay  also 
Shechem  and  his  father  Hamor,  and 
they  sought  to  slay  Dinah  with  them, 
on  account  of  this  matter. 

6.  And  they  said  unto  them,  what 
is  this  thing  that  you  have  done  ?  are 
there  no  women  amongst  the  daugh- 
ters of  your  brethren  the  Canaanites, 
that  you  wish  to  take  unto  yourselves 
daughters  of  the  Hebrews,  whom 
ye  knew  not  before,  and  will  do  this 
act  which  ^^our  fathers  never  com- 
manded you  ? 

7.  Do  you  imagine  that  ^^ou  will 
succeed  through  tliis  act  which  you 
have  done  ?  and  what  will  you  an- 
swer in  this  affair  to  your  brethren 
the  Canaanites,  who  will  come  to- 
morrow and  ask  you  concerning  this 
thing  ? 

8.  And  if  your  act  shall  not  appear 
just  and  good  in  their  sight,  what  will 
you  do  for  your  lives,  and  we  for 
our  lives,  in  your  not  having  hear- 
kened to  our  voices  ? 

9.  And  if  the  inhabitants  of  the  land 
and  all  vour  brethren  the  children  of 
Ham,  shall  hear  of  your  act,  saying, 

10.  On  account  of  a  Hebrew  wo- 


man did  Shechem  and  Hamor  his 
father,  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  their 
city,  do  that  with  which  they  had 
been  unacquainted  and  which  their 
ancestors  never  commanded  them, 
where  then  will  you  fly  or  where 
conceal  your  shame,  all  your  days 
before  your  brethren,  the  inhabitants 
of  the  land  of  Canaan? 

1 1 .  Now  therefore  we  cannot  bear 
up  against  this  thing  which  you  have 
done,  neither  can  we  be  burthened 
with  this  yoke  upon  us,  which  our 
ancestors  did  not  command  us. 

12.  Behold  to-morrow  we  will  go 
and  assemble  all  our  brethren  the  Ca- 
naanitish  brethren  who  dwell  in  the 
land,  and  we  will  all  come  and  smite 
you  and  all  those  who  trust  in  you, 
that  there  shall  not  be  a  remnant  left 
from  you  or  them. 

13.  And  when  Hamor  and  his  son 
Shechem  and  all  the  people  of  the 
city  heard  the  words  of  Chiddekem 
and  his  brothers,  they  were  terribly 
afraid  of  their  lives  at  their  words, 
and  they  repented  of  what  they  had 
done. 

14.  And  Shechem  and  his  father 
Hamor  answered  their  father  Chidde- 
kem and  his  brethren,  and  they  said 
unto  them,  all  the  words  which  you 
spoke  unto  us  are  true. 

15.  Now  do  not  say,  nor  imagine 
in  your  hearts  that  on  account  of  the 
love  of  the  Hebrews  we  did  this  thing 
that  our  ancestors  did  not  command 
us. 

16.  But  because  we  saw  that  it 
was  not  their  intention  and  desire  to 
accede  to  our  wishes  concerning  their 
daughter  as  to  our  taking  her,  except 
on  this  condition,  so  we  hearkened  to 
their  voices  and  did  this  act  which 
you  saw,  in  order  to  obtain  our  desire 
from  them. 

17.  And  when  we  shall  have  ob- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


101 


tained  our  request  from  them,  we  will 
then  return  to  them  and  do  unto  them 
that  which  you  say  unto  us. 

18.  We  beseech  you  then  to  wait 
and  tarry  until  our  flesh  shall  be 
healed  and  we  again  become  strong, 
and  we  will  then  go  together  against 
them,  and  do  unto  them  that  which  is 
in  your  hearts  and  in  ours. 

19.  And  Dinah  the  daughter  of 
Jacob  heard  all  these  words  which 
Chiddekem  and  his  brothers  had  spo- 
ken, and  what  Hamor  and  his  son 
Shechem  and  the  people  of  their  city 
had  answered  them. 

20.  And  she  hastened  and  sent 
one  of  her  maidens,  that  her  father 
had  sent  to  take  care  of  her  in  the 
house  of  Shechem,  to  Jacob  her  fa- 
ther and  to  her  brethern,  saying  : 

21.  Thus  did  Chiddekem  and  his 
brothers  advise  concerning  you,  and 
thus  did  Hamor  and  Shechem  and 
the  people  of  the  city  answer  them. 

22.  And  when  Jacob  heard  these 
words  he  was  filled  with  wrath,  and 
he  was  indignant  at  them,  and  his  an- 
ger was  kindled  against  them. 

23.  And  Simeon  and  Levi  swore 
and  said,  as  the  Lord  Hveth,  the  God 
of  the  whole  earth,  by  this  time  to- 
morrow, there  shall  not  be  a  remnant 
left  in  the  whole  city'. 

24.  And  twenty  young  men  had 
concealed  themselves  who  were  not 
circumcised,  and  these  young  men 
fought  against  Simeon  and  Levi,  and 
Simeon  and  Levi  killed  eighteen  of 
them,  and  two  fled  from  them  and  es- 
caped to  some  lime  pits  that  were  in 
the  city,  and  Simeon  and  Levi  sought 
for  them,  but  could  not  find  them. 

25.  And  Simeon  and  Levi  continu- 
ed to  go  about  in  the  city,  and  they 
killed  all  the  people  of  the  city  at  the 
edge  of  the  sword,  and  they  left  none 
remaining. 


26.  And  there  was  a  great  conster- 
nation in  the  midst  of  ihe  city,  and 
the  cry  of  the  people  of  the  city  as- 
cended to  heaven,  and  all  the  women 
and  children  cried  aloud. 

27.  And  Simeon  and  Levi  slew 
all  the  city  ;  they  left  not  a  male  re- 
maining in  the  whole  city. 

28.  And  they  slew  Hamor  and 
Shechem  his  son  at  the  edge  of  the 
sword,  and  they  brought  away  Dinah 
from  the  house  of  Shechem  and  they 
went  from  there. 

29.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  went 
and  returned,  and  came  upon  the 
slain,  and  spoiled  all  their  property 
which  was  in  the  city  and  the  field. 

30.  And  whilst  they  were  taking 
the  spoil,  three  hundred  men  stood 
up  and  threw  dust  at  them  and  struck 
them  with  stones,  when  Simeon 
turned  to  them  and  he  slew  them  all 
with  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and  Si- 
meon turned  before  Levi,  and  came 
into  the  city. 

31.  And  they  took  away  their 
sheep  and  their  oxen  and  their  cattle, 
and  also  the  remainder  of  the  women 
and  little  ones,  and  they  led  all  these 
away,  and  they  opened  a  gate  and 
went  out  and  came  unto  their  father 
Jacob  with  vigor. 

32.  And  when  Jacob  saw  all  that 
they  had  done  to  the  city,  and  saw 
the  spoil  that  they  took  from  them, 
Jacob  was  very  angry  at  them,  and 
Jacob  said  unto  them,  what  is  this 
that  you  have  done  to  me  1  behold  I 
obtained  rest  amongst  the  Canaan- 
itish  inhabitants  of  the  land,  and  none 
of  them  meddled  with  me. 

33.  And  now  you  have  done  to 
make  me  obnoxious  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  land,  amongst  the  Ca- 
naanites  and  the  Perizzites,  and  I 
am  but  of  a  small  number,  and  they 
will  all  assemble  against  me  and  slay 


102 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


me  when  they  hear  of  your  work 
with  their  brethren,  and  I  and  my 
household  will  be  destroyed. 

34.  And  Simeon  and  Levi  and  all 
their  brothers  with  them  answered 
their  father  Jacob  and  said  unto  him, 
behold  we  live  in  the  land,  and  shall 
Shechem  do  this  to  our  sister  ?  why 
art  thou  silent  at  all  that  Shechem 
has  done  ?  and  shall  he  deal  with  our 
sister  as  witii  a  harlot  in  the  streets  ? 

35.  And  the  number  of  women 
whom  Simeon  and  Levi  took  cap- 
tives from  the  city  of  Shechem,  whom 
they  did  not  slay,  was  eighty-five 
who  had  not  known  man. 

36.  And  amongst  them  was  a 
young  damsel  of  beautiful  appear- 
ance and  well  favored,  whose  name 
was  Bunah,  and  Simeon  took  her  for 
a  wife,  and  the  number  of  the  males 
which  they  took  captives  and  did  not 
slay,  was  forty-seven  men,  and  the 
rest  they  slew. 

37.  And  all  the  young  men  and 
women  that  Simeon  and  Levi  had 
taken  captives  from  the  city  of  She- 
chem, were  servants  to  the  sons  of 
Jacob  and  to  their  children  after 
them,  until  the  day  of  the  sons  of  Ja- 
cob going  forth  from  the  land  of  Egypt. 

38.  And  when  Simeon  and  Levi 
had  gone  forth  from  the  city,  the  two 
young  men  that  were  left,  who  had 
concealed  themselves  in  the  city,  and 
did  not  die  amongst  the  people  of 
the  city,  rose  up,  and  these  young 
men  went  into  the  city  and  walked 
about  in  it,  and  found  the  city  deso- 
late without  a  man,  and  only  women 
weeping,  and  these  young  men  cried 
out  and  said,  behold,  this  is  the  evil 
which  the  sons  of  Jacob  the  Hebrew 
did  to  this  city  in  their  having  this 
day  destroyed  one  of  the  Canaanitish 
cities,  and  were  not  afraid  of  their 
lives  of  all  the  land  of  Canaan. 


39.  And  these  men  left  the  city 
and  went  to  the  city  of  Tapnach,  and 
they  came  there  and  told  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Tapnach  all  that  had  befal- 
len them,  and  all  that  the  sons  of  Ja- 
cob had  done  to  the  city  of  Shechem. 

40.  And  the  information  reached 
Jashub  king  of  Tapnach,  and  he  sent 
men  to  the  city  of  Shechem  to  see 
those  young  men,  for  the  king  did 
not  believe  them  in  this  account, 
saying,  how  could  two  men  lay  waste 
such  a  large  town  as  Shechem  ? 

41 .  And  the  messengers  of  Jashub 
came  back  and  told  him,  saying,  we 
came  unto  the  city,  and  it  is  destroy- 
ed, there  is  not  a  man  there  ;  only 
weeping  women ;  neither  is  any 
flock  or  cattle  there,  for  all  that  was  in 
the  city  the  sons  of  Jacob  took  away. 

42.  And  Jashub  wondered  at  this, 
saying,  how  could  two  men  do  this 
thing,  to  destroy  so  large  a  city,  and 
not  one  man  able  to  stand  against 
them  ? 

43.  For  the  like  has  not  been  from 
the  days  of  Nimrod,  and  not  even 
from  the  remotest  time,  has  the  like 
taken  place ;  and  Jashub,  king  of 
Tapnach,  said  to  his  people,  be  cou- 
rageous and  we  will  go  and  fight 
against  these  Hebrews,  and  do  unto 
them  as  they  did  unto  the  city,  and 
we  will  avenge  the  cause  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  city. 

44.  And  Jashub,  king  of  Tapnach, 
consulted  with  his  counsellors  about 
this  matter,  and  his  advisers  said 
unto  him,  alone  thou  wilt  not  prevail 
over  the  Hebrews,  for  they  must  be 
powerful  to  do  this  work  to  the  whole 
city. 

45.  If  two  of  them  laid  waste  the 
whole  city,  and  no  one  stood  against 
them,  surely  if  thou  wilt  go  against 
them,  they" will  all  rise  against  us 
and  destroy  us  likewise. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER 


103 


46.  But  if  thou  tvilt  send  to  all 
the  kings  that  surround  us,  and  let 
them  come  together,  tiien  we  will 
go  with  them  and  fight  against  the 
sons  of  Jacob  ;  then  wilt  liiou  prevail 
against  them. 

47.  And  Jashub  heard  the  words 
of  his  counsellors,  and  their  words 
pleased  him  and  his  people,  and  he 
did  so  ;  and  Jashub  king  of  Tapnach 
sent  to  all  the  kings  of  the  Amorites 
that  surrounded  IShechem  and  Tap- 
nach, saying, 

48.  Go  up  with  me  and  assist  me, 
and  we  will  smite  Jacob  the  Hebrew 
and  all  his  sons,  and  destroy  them 
from  the  earth,  for  thus  did  he  do  to 
the  city  of  Shechem,  and  do  you  not 
know  of  it  ? 

49.  And  all  the  kings  of  ihe  Amor- 
ites heard  the  evil  that  the  sons  of 
Jacob  had  done  to  the  city  of  She- 
chem, and  they  were  greatly  aston- 
ished at  them. 

50.  And  the  seven  kings  of  the 
Amorites  assembled  with  all  their 
armies,  about  ten  thousand  men  with 
drawn  swords,  and  they  came  to 
fight  against  the  sons  of  Jacob  ;  and 
Jacob  heard  that  the  kings  of  the 
Amorites  had  assembled  to  fight 
against  his  sons,  and  Jacob  was 
greatly  afraid,  and  it  distressed  him. 

51.  And  Jacob  exclaimed  against 
Simeon  and  Levi,  saying,  what  is 
this  act  that  you  did  ?  why  have  you 
injured  me,  to  bring  against  me  all 
the  children  of  Canaan  to  destroy 
me  and  my  household  ?  for  I  was  at 
rest,  even  I  and  mv  household,  and 
you  have  done  this  thing  to  me,  and 
provoked  the  inhabitants  of  the  land 
against  me  by  your  proceedings. 

52.  And  Judah  answered  his  fa- 
ther, saying,  was  it  for  nought  my 
brothers  Simeon  and  Levi  killed  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Shechem  ?  Surely 


it  was  because  Shechem  had  hum- 
bled our  sister,  and  transgressed  the 
command  of  our  (xod  to  Noah  and 
his  children,  for  Shechem  took  our 
sister  away  by  force,  and  committed 
adultery  xoitk  her. 

53.  And  Shechem  did  all  this -evil 
and  not  one  of  the  inhabitants  of  his 
city  interfered  with  him,  to  say,  why 
wilt  thou  do  this  ?  surely  for  this  my 
brothers  went  and  smote  the  city, 
and  the  J^ord  delivered  it  into  their 
hands,  because  its  inhabitants  had 
transgressed  the  commands  of  our 
God.  Is  it  then  for  nought  that  they 
have  done  all  this  ? 

54.  And  now  why  art  thou  afraid 
or  distressed,  and  why  art  thou  dis- 
pleased at  my  brothers,  and  why  is 
thine  anger  kindled  against  tliem  ? 

55.  Surely  our  Gocl  who  delivered 
into  their  hand  the  city  of  Shechem 
and  its  people,  he  will  also  deliver 
into  our  hands  all  the  Canaanitish 
kings  who  are  coming  against  us, 
and  we  will  do  unto  them  as  my  bro- 
thers did  unto  Shechem. 

56.  Now  be  tranquil  about  them 
and  cast  away  thy  fears,  but  trust  in 
the  Lord  our  God,  and  pray  unto  him 
to  assist  us  and  deliver  us,  and  deli- 
ver our  enemies  into  our  hands. 

57.  And  Judah  called  to  one  of 
his  father's  servants,  go  now  and  see 
where  those  kings,  who  are  coming 
against  us,  are  situated  with  their 
armies. 

58.  And  the  servant  went  and 
looked  far  off,  and  went  up  opposite 
mount  Sihon,  and  saw  all  the  camps 
of  the  kings  standing  in  the  fields, 
and  he  returned  to  Judah  and  said, 
behold  the  kings  arc  situated  in  the 
field  with  all  their  camps,  a  people 
exceedingly  numerous,  like  unto  the 
sand  upon  the  sea  shore, 

59.  And  Judah  said  unto  Simeon 


104 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


and  Levi,  and  unto  all  his  brothers, 
strengthen  yourselves  and  be  sons 
.of  valour,  for  the  Lord  our  God  is 
with  us  ;  do  not  fear  them. 

60.  Stand  forth  each  man,  girt 
with  his  weapons  of  war,  his  bow 
and  his  sword,  and  we  will  go  and 
fight  against  these  uncircumcised 
men ;  the  Lord  is  our  God,  he  will 
save  us. 

61.  And  they  rose  up,  and  each 
girt  on  his  weapons  of  war  great  and 
small,  eleven  sons  of  Jacob,  and  all 
the  servants  of  Jacob  with  them. 

62.  And  all  the  servants  of  Isaac 
who  were  with  Isaac  in  Hebron,  all 
came  to  them  equipped  in  all  sorts 
of  war  instruments,  and  the  sons  of 
Jacob  and  their  servants,  being  one 
hundred  and  twelve  men,  went  to- 
ward these  kings,  and  Jacob  also 
went  with  them. 

63.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  sent 
unto  their  father  Isaac  the  son  of 
Abraham  to  Hebron,  the  saine  is 
Kireath-arba,  saying, 

64.  Pray  we  beseech  thee  for 
us  unto  the  Lord  our  God,  to  pro- 
tect us  from  the  hands  of  the  Ca- 
naanites  who  are  coming  against  us, 
and  to  deliver  them  into  our  hands. 

65.  And  Isaac  the  son  of  Abraham 
prayed  unto  the  Lord  for  his  sons, 
and  he  said,  0  Lord  God,  thou  didst 
promise  my  father,  saying,  I  will 
multiply  thy  seed  as  the  stars  of 
heaven,  and  thou  didst  also  promise 
me,  and  establish  thou  thy  word, 
now  that  the  kings  of  Canaan  are 
coming  together,  to  make  war  with 
my  children  because  they  committed 
no  violence. 

66.  Now  therefore  0  Lord  God, 
God  of  the  whole  earth,  pervert  I 
pray  thee  the  counsel  of  these  kings 
that  they  may  not  fight  against  my 
sons. 


67.  And  impress  the  hearts  of 
these  kings  and  their  people  with  the 
terror  of  my  sons,  and  bring  down 
their  pride,  and  that  they  may  turn 
away  from  my  sons. 

68.  And  with  thy  strong  hand  and 
outstretched  arm  deliver  my  sons  and 
their  servants  from  them,  for  power 
and  might  are  in  thy  hands  to  do  all 
this. 

69.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  and 
their  servants  went  toward  these 
kings,  and  they  trusted  in  the  Lord 
their  God,  and  whilst  they  were  go- 
ing, Jacob  their  father  also  prayed 
unto  the  Lord  and  said,  0  Lord  God, 
powerful  and  exalted  God,  who  hast 
reigned  from  days  of  old,  from 
thence  till  now  and  forever  ; 

70.  Thou  art  he  who  stirreth  up 
wars  and  causeth  them  to  cease,  in 
thy  hand  are  power  and  might  to 
exalt  and  to  bring  down  ;  O  may  my 
prayer  be  acceptable  hefor"  thee 
that  thou  mayest  turn  to  ire  with 
thy  mercies,  to  impress  the  hearts 
of  these  kings  and  their  people  with 
the  terror  of  my  sons,  and  terrify 
them  and  their  camps,  and  with  thy 
great  kindness  deliver  all  those  that 
trust  in  thee,  for  it  is  thou  who  canst 
bring  people  under  us  and  reduce 
nations  under  our  power. 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

1 .  And  all  the  kings  of  the  Amo- 
rites  came  and  took  their  stand  in 
the  field  to  consult  with  their  coun- 
sellors what  was  to  be  done  with  the 
sons  of  Jacob,  for  they  were  still 
afraid  of  them,  saying,  behold,  two 
of  them  slew  the  whole  of  the  city  of 
Shechem. 

2.  And  the  Lord  heard  the  prayers 
of  Isaac  and  Jacob,  and  he  filled  the 
hearts  of  all   these   kings    advisers 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


105 


with  great  fear  and  terror  lliat  tlicy 
unanimously  exclaimed, 

3.  Are  you  silly  this  day,  or  is 
there  no  understanding  in  you,  that 
you  will  fight  with  the  Hebrews,  and 
why  will  you  take  a  delight  in  your 
own  destruction  this  day  ? 

4.  Behold  two  of  them  came  to 
the  city  of  Shechem  without  fear  or 
terror,  and  ihcy  killed  all  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  city,  that  no  man  stood 
up  against  them,  and  how  will  you 
be  able  to  fight  with  them  all  ? 

5.  Surely  you  know  that  their 
God  is  exceedingly  fond  of  them, 
and  has  done  mighty  things  for  them, 
such  as  have  iiot  been  done  from 
days  of  old,  and  amongst  all  the 
gods  of  nations,  there  is  none  can  do 
like  unto  his  mighty  deeds. 

6.  Surely  he  delivered  their  fath- 
er Abraham,  the  Hebrew,  from  the 
hand  of  Nimrod,  and  from  the  hand 
of  all  his  people  who  had  many  times 
sought  to  slay  him. 

7.  He  delivered  him  also  from  the 
fire  in  which  king  Nimrod  had  cast 
him,  and  his  God  delivered  him  from 
it. 

8.  And  who  else  can  do  the  like? 
surely  it  was  Abraham  who  slew  the 
five  kings  of  Elam,  when  they  had 
touched  his  brother's  son  who  in 
those  days  dwelt  in  Sodom. 

9.  And  took  his  servant  that  was 
faithful  in  his  house  and  a  few  of  his 
men,  and  they  pursued  the  kings  of 
Elam  in  one  night  and  killed  them, 
and  restored  to  his  brother's  son  all 
his  property  which  they  had  taken 
from  him. 

10.  And  surely  you  know  the  God 
of  these  Hebrews  is  much  delighted 
with  them,  and  they  are  also  delight- 
ed with  him,  for  they  know  that  he 
delivered  them  from  all  their  ene- 
mies. 


1 1 .  And  behold  through  his  love 
toward  his  God,  Abraham  took  his 
only  and  precious  son  and  intended 
to  bring  him  up  as  a  burnt  offering 
to  his  God,  and  had  it  not  been  for 
God  who  prevented  him  from  doing 
this,  he  would  then  have  done  it 
through  his  love  to  his  God. 

12.  And  God  saw  all  his  works, 
and  swore  unto  him,  and  promised 
him  that  he  would  deliver  his  sons 
and  all  his  seed  from  every  trouble 
that  would  befall  them,  because  he 
had  done  this  thing,  and  through  his 
love  to  his  God  stifled  his  compas- 
sion for  his  child. 

13.  And  have  you  not  heard  what 
their  God  did  to  Pharaoh  king  of 
Egypt,  and  to  Abimelech  king  of 
Gerar,  through  taking  Abraham's 
wife,  who  said  of  her  she  is  my  sis- 
ter, lest  they  might  slay  him  on  ac- 
count of  her,  and  think  of  taking  her 
for  a  wife?  and  (xod  did  unto  them 
and  their  people  all  that  you  heard 
of. 

14.  And  behold,  we  ourselves  saw 
with  our  eyes  that  Esau,  the  brother 
of  Jacob,  came  to  him  with  four 
hundred  men,  with  the  intention  of 
slaying  him,  for  he  called  to  mind 
that  he  had  taken  away  from  him 
his  father's  blessing. 

15.  And  he  went  to  meet  him 
when  he  came  from  Syria,  to  smite 
the  mother  with  the  children,  and 
who  delivered  him  from  his  hands 
but  his  God  in  whom  he  trusted?  he 
delivered  him  from  the  hand  of  his 
brother  and  also  from  the  hands  of 
his  enemies,  and  surely  he  again 
will  protect  them. 

16.  Who  does  not  know  that  it 
was  their  God  who  inspired  them 
with  strength  to  do  to  the  town  of 
Shechem  the  evil  which  vou  heard 
of? 


106 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


17.  Could  it  then  be  with  their 
own  strength  that  two  men  could 
destroy  such  a  large  city  as  She- 
chem  had  it  not  been  for  their  God 
in  whom  they  trusted?  he  said  and 
did  unto  them  all  this  to  slay  the  in- 
habitants of  the  city  in  their  city. 

18.  And  can  you  then  prevail 
over  them  who  have  come  forth  to- 
gether from  your  city  to  fight  with 
the  whole  of  them,  even  if  a  thou- 
sand times  as  many  more  should 
come  to  your  assistance. 

19.  Surely  you  know  and  under- 
stand that  you  do  not  come  to  fight 
with  them,  but  you  come  to  war  with 
their  God  who  made  choice  of  them, 
and  you  have  therefore  all  come  this 
day  to  be  destroyed. 

20.  Now  therefore  refrain  from 
this  evil  which  you  are  endeavoring 
to  bring  upon  yourselves,  and  it  will 
be  better  for  you  not  to  go  to  battle 
with  them,  although  they  are  but 
few  in  numbers,  because  their  God 
is  with  them. 

21.  And  when  the  kings  of  the 
Amorites  heard  all  the  words  of  their 
advisers,  their  hearts  were  filled 
with  terror,  and  they  were  afraid  of 
the  sons  of  Jacob  and  would  not 
fight  against  them. 

22.  And  they  inclined  their  ears 
to  the  words  of  their  advisers,  and 
they  listened  to  all  their  words,  and 
the  words  of  the  counsellors  greatly 
pleased  the  kings,  and  they  did  so. 

23.  And  the  kings  turned  and  re- 
frained from  the  sons  of  Jacob,  for 
they  durst  not  approach  them  to 
make  war  with  them,  for  they  were 
greatly  afraid  of  them,  and  their 
hearts  melted  within  them  from  their 
fear  of  them. 

24.  For  this  proceeded  from  the 
Lord  to  them,  for  he  heard  the  pray- 
ers of  his  servants  Isaac  and  Jacob, 


for  they  trusted  in  him ;  and  all 
these  kings  returned  with  their 
camps  on  that  day,  each  to  his  own 
city,  and  they  did  not  at  that  time 
fight  with  the  sons  of  Jacob. 

25.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  kept 
their  station  that  day  till  evening  op- 
posite mount  Sihon,  and  seeing  that 
these  kings  did  not  come  to  fight 
against  them,  the  sons  of  Jacob  re- 
turned home. 

CHAPTER  XXXVI 

1.  At  that  time  the  Lord  appeared 
unto  Jacob  saving,  arise,  go  to  Bethel 
and  remain  there,  and  make  there 
an  altar  to  the  Lord  who  appeareth 
unto  thee,  who  delivered  thee  and  all 
thy  sons  from  affliction. 

2.  And  Jacob  rose  up  with  his 
sons  and  all  belonging  to  him,  and 
they  went  and  came  to  Bethel  ac- 
cording to  the  word  of  the  Lord. 

3.  And  Jacob  was  ninety  nine 
years  old  when  he  went  up  to  Bethel, 
and  Jacob  and  his  sons  and  all  the 
people  that  were  with  him,  remained 
in  Bethel  in  Luz,  and  he  there  built 
an  altar  to  the  Lord  who  appeared 
unto  him,  and  Jacob  and  his  sons  re- 
mained in  Bethel  six  months. 

4.  At  that  time  died  Deborah  the 
daughter  of  Uz,  the  nurse  of  Re- 
becca, who  had  been  with  Jacob ; 
and  Jacob  buried  her  beneath  Bethel 
under  an  oak  that  was  there. 

5.  And  Rebecca  the  daughter  of 
Bethuel,  the  mother  of  Jacob,  also 
died  at  that  time  in  Hebron,  the 
same  is  Kireath-arba,  and  she  was 
buried  in  the  cave  of  Machpelah 
which  Abraham  had  bought  from  the 
children  of  Heth. 

6.  And  the  hfe  of  Rebecca  was 
one  hundred  and  thirty  three  years, 
and  she  died  and  when  Jacob  heard 


THE  BOOK  OP  JASHER. 


107 


that  his  mother  Rebecca  was  dead 
he  wept  bitterly  for  his  mother,  and 
made  a  great  mourning  for  lier,  and 
for  Deborah  her  nurse  beneatli  the 
oak,  and  he  called  the  name  of  that 
place  Allon-bachulh. 

7.  And  Laban  the  Syrian  died  in 
those  days,  for  God  smole  him  be- 
cause he  transgressed  the  covenant 
that  existed  between  him  and  Jacob. 

8.  And  Jacob  was  a  hundred 
years  old  when  the  ]jord  appeared 
unto  him,  and  blessed  him  and  called 
his  name  Israel,  and  Rachel  the  wife 
of  Jacob  conceived  in  those  days. 

9.  And  at  that  time  Jacob  and  all 
belonging  to  him  journeyed  from 
Bethel  to  go  to  his  father's  house,  to 
Hebron. 

10.  And  whilst  they  were  going 
on  the  road,  and  there  was  yet  but 
a  little  way  to  come  to  Ephrath, 
Rachel  bare  a  son  and  she  had  hard 
labour  and  she  died. 

11.  And  Jacob  buried  her  in  the 
way  to  Ephrath,  which  is  Bethlehem, 
and  he  set  a  pillar  upon  lier  grave, 
tuhich  is  there  unto  this  day ;  and  the 
days  of  Rachel  were  forty  five  years 
and  she  died. 

12.  And  Jacob  called  the  name  of 
his  son  that  was  born  to  him,  which 
Rachel  bare  unto  him,  Benjamin,  for 
he  was  born  to  him  in  the  land  on 
the  right  hand. 

13.  And  it  was  after  the  death  of 
Rachel,  that  Jacob  pitched  his  tent 
in  the  tent  of  her  hand  maid  Bilhah. 

14.  And  Reuben  was  jealous  for 
his  mother  Leah  on  account  of  this, 
and  he  was  filled  with  anger,  and  he 
rose  up  in  his  anger  and  went  and 
entered  the  tent  of  Bilhah  and  he 
thence  removed  his  father's  bed. 

15.  At  that  time  the  portion  of 
birth  right,  together  with  the  kingly 
and  priestly    offices,  was   removed 


from  the  sons  of  Reuben,  for  he  had 
profaned  iiis  father's  bed,  and  the 
birthright  was  given  unto  Joseph, 
the  kingly  office  to  Judah,  and  the 
priesthood  unto  Levi,  because  Reu- 
ben had  defiled  his  fathers  bed. 

16.  And  these  are  the  generations 
of  Jacob  who  were  born  to  him  in 
Padan-aram,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob 
were  twelve. 

17.  The  sons  of  Leah  ivere  Reu- 
ben the  first  born,  and  Simeon,  Levi, 
Judah,  Issachar,  Zebulun,  and  their 
sister  Dinah ;  and  the  sons  of  Rachel 
were  Joseph  and  Benjamin. 

18.  The  sons  of  Zilpah,  Leah's 
handmaid,  were  Gad  and  Asher,  and 
the  sons  of  Bilhah,  Rachel's  handmaid, 
were  Dan  and  Naphtali;  these  are 
the  sons  of  Jacob  which  were  born 
to  him  in  Padan-aram. 

19.  And  Jacob  and  his  sons  and 
all  belonging  to  him  journeyed  and 
came  to  Mamre,  wJiich  is  Kireath- 
arba,  that  is  in  Hebron,  where  Abra- 
ham and  Isaac  sojourned,  and  Jacob 
with  his  sons  and  all  belonging  to 
him,  dwelled  with  his  father  in 
Hebron. 

20.  And  his  brother  Esau  and  his 
sons,  and  all  belonging  to  him  went 
to  the  land  of  Seir  and  dwelt  there, 
and  had  possessions  in  the  land  of 
Seir,  and  the  children  of  Esau  were 
fruitful  and  multiplied  exceedingly 
in  the  land  of  Seir. 

21.  And  these  are  the  generations 
of  Esau  that  were  born  to  him  in  the 
land  of  Canaan,  and  the  sons  of  Esau 
were  five. 

22.  And  Adah  bare  to  Esau  his 
first  born  Eliphaz,  and  she  also  bare 
to  him  Reuel,  and  Ahlibamah  bare  to 
him  Jeush,  Yaalam  and  Korah. 

23.  These  are  the  children  of  Esau 
who  were  born  to  him  in  the  land  of 
Canaan  ;    and  the  sons  of   Eliphaz 


108 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


the  son  of  Esau  were  Teman,  Omar, 
Zepho,  Gatam,  Kenaz  and  Amalex, 
and  the  sons  of  Reuel  were  Nachath, 
Zerach,  Shamah  and  Mizzah. 

24.  And  the  sons  of  Jeush  were 
Timnah,  Alvah,  Jetheth ;  and  the 
sons  of  Yaalam  were  Alah,  Phinor 
and  Kenaz. 

25.  And  the  sons  of  Korah  were 
Teman,  Mibzar,  Magdiel  and  Eram  ; 
these  are  the  famihes  of  the  sons  of 
Esau  according  to  their  dukedoms 
in  the  land  of  Seir. 

26.  And  these  are  the  names  of 
the  sons  of  Seir  the  Horite,  inhab- 
itants of  the  land  of  Seir,  Lotan, 
Shobal,  Zibean,  Anah,  Dishan,  Ezer 
and  Dishon,  being  seven  sons. 

27.  And  the  children  of  Lotan 
were  Hori,  Heman  and  their  sister 
Timna  ,  that  is  Timna  who  came  to 
Jacob  and  his  sons,  and  they  would 
not  give  ear  to  her,  and  she  went 
and  became  a  concubine  to  Eliphaz 
the  son  of  Esau,  and  she  bare  to  him 
Amalek. 

28.  And  the  sons  of  Shobal  were 
Alvan,  Manahath,  Ebal,  Shepho,  and 
Onam,  and  the  sons  of  Zibeon  were 
Ajah,  and  Anah,  this  tvas  that  Anah 
who  found  the  Yemim  in  the  wilder- 
ness when  he  fed  the  asses  of  Zibeon 
his  father. 

29.  And  whilst  he  was  feeding  his 
father's  asses  he  led  them  to  the 
wilderness  at  different  times  to  feed 
them. 

30.  And  there  was  a  day  that  he 
brought  them  to  one  of  the  deserts 
on  the  sea  shore,  opposite  the  wilder- 
ness of  the  people,  and  whilst  he 
was  feeding  them,  behold  a  very 
heavy  storm  came  from  the  other  side 
of  the  sea  and  rested  upon  the  asses 
that  were  feeding  there,  and  they 
all  stood  still. 

31.  And  afterward  about  one  hun- 


dred and  twenty  great  and  terrible 
animals  came  out  from  the  wilderness 
at  the  other  side  of  the  sea,  and 
they  all  came  to  the  place  where  the 
asses  were,  and  they  placed  them- 
selves there. 

32.  And  those  animals,  from  their 
middle  downward,  were  in  the  shape 
of  the  children  of  men,  and  from 
their  middle  upward,  some  had  the 
likeness  of  bears,  and  some  the  like- 
ness of  the  keephas,  with  tails  behind 
them  from  between  their  shoulders 
reaching  down  to  the  earth,  like  the 
tails  of  the  ducheephath,  and  these 
animals  came  and  mounted  and  rode 
upon  these  asses,  and  led  them  away, 
and  they  went  away  unto  this  day. 

33.  And  one  of  these  animals  ap 
proached  Anah  and  smote  him  with 
his  tail,  and  then  fled  from  that  place. 

34.  And  when  he  saw  this  work 
he  was  exceedingly  afraid  of  his  life, 
and  he  fled  and  escaped  to  the  city. 

3.5.  And  he  related  to  his  sons  and 
brothers  all  that  had  happened  to 
him,  and  many  men  went  to  seek  the 
asses  but  could  not  find  them,  and 
Anah  and  his  brothers  went  no  more 
to  that  place  from  that  day  following, 
for  they  were  greatly  afraid  of  their 
lives. 

36.  And  the  children  of  Anah  the 
son  of  Seir,  were  Dishon  and  his  sis- 
ter Ahlibamah,  and  the  children  of 
Dishon  were  Hemdan,  Eshban,  Ith- 
ran  and  Cheran,  and  the  children  of 
Ezer  were  Bilhan,  Zaavan,  and  Akan, 
and  the  children  of  Dishan  were  Uz 
and  Aran. 

37.  These  are  the  families  of  the 
children  of  Seir  the  Horite,  accord- 
ing to  their  dukedoms  in  the  land  of 
Seir. 

38.  And  Esau  and  his  children 
dwelt  in  the  land  of  Seir  the  Horite, 
the  inhabitant  of  the  land,  and  they 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


109 


had  possessions  in  it  and  were  fruit- 
ful and  multiplied  exceedingly,  and 
Jacob  and  his  children  and  all  belong- 
ing to  them,  dwelt  with  their  father 
Isaac  in  the  land  of  Canaan  as  the 
Lord  had  commanded  Abraham  their 
father. 

CHAPTER  XXXVTI. 

1.  And  in  the  one  hundred  and 
fifth  year  of  the  life  of  Jacob,  that  is 
the  ninth  year  of  Jacob's  dwelling 
with  his  children  in  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, he  came  from  Padan-aram. 

2.  And  in  those  days  Jacob  jour- 
neyed with  his  children  from  Hebron, 
and  they  went  and  returned  to  the 
city  of  IShechem,  they  and  all  belong- 
ing to  them,  and  they  dwelt  there, 
for  the  children  of  Jacob  obtained 
good  and  fat  pasture  land  for  their 
cattle  in  the  city  of  Shechem,  the 
city  of  Shechem  having  then  been 
rebuilt,  and  there  were  in  it  about 
three  hundred  men  and  women. 

3.  And  Jacob  and  his  children  and 
all  belonging  to  him  dwelt  in  the  part 
of  the  field  which  Jacob  had  bought 
from  Hamor  the  father  of  Shechem, 
when  he  came  from  Padan-aram  be- 
fore Simeon  and  Levi  had  smitten 
the  city. 

4.  And  all  those  kings  of  the  Ca- 
naanites  and  Amorites  that  surround- 
ed the  city  of  Shechem,  heard  that 
the  sons  of  Jacob  had  again  come  to 
Shechem  and  dwelt  there. 

5.  And  they  said,  shall  the  sons  of 
Jacob  the  Hebrew  again  come  to  the 
city  and  dwell  therein,  after  that  they 
have  smitten  its  inhabitants  and  driven 
them  out  ?  shall  they  now  return  and 
also  drive  out  those  who  are  dwelling 
in  the  city  or  slay  them  ? 

6.  And  all  the  kings  of  Canaan 
again  assembled,  and  they  came  to- 


gether to  make  war  with  Jacob  and 
his  sons. 

7.  And  Jashub  king  of  Tapnach 
sent  also  to  all  his  neighboring  kings, 
to  Elan  king  of  Gaash,  and  to  Ihuri 
king  of  Shiloh,  and  to  Parathon  king 
of  Chazar,  and  to  Susi  king  of  Sar- 
ton,  and  to  Laban  king  of  Beth«ho- 
ran,  and  to  Shabir  king  of  Othnay- 
raah,  saying, 

8.  Come  up  to  me  and  assist  me, 
and  let  us  smite  Jacob  the  Hebrew 
and  his  sons,  and  all  belonging  to  him, 
for  they  are  again  come  to  Shechem 
to  possess  it  and  to  slay  its  inhabi- 
tants as  before ; 

9.  And  all  these  kings  assembled 
together  and  came  with  all  their 
camps,  a  people  exceedingly  plenti- 
ful like  the  sand  upon  the  sea  shore, 
and  they  were  all  opposite  to  Tap- 
nach. 

10.  And  Jashub  king  of  Tapnach 
went  forth  to  them  with  all  his  army, 
and  he  encamped  with  them  opposite 
to  Tapnach  without  the  city,  and  all 
these  kings  they  divided  into  seven 
divisions,  being  seven  camps  against 
the  sons  of  Jacob. 

]  1 .  And  they  sent  a  declaration* 
to  Jacob  and  his  son,  saying,  come 
you  all  forth  to  us  that  we  may 
have  an  interview  together  in  the 
plain,  and  revenge  the  cause  of  the 
men  of  Shechem  whom  you  slew  in 
their  city,  and  you  will  now  again  re- 
turn to  the  city  of  Shechem  and  dwell 
therein,  and  slay  its  inhabitants  as 
before. 

12.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  heard 
this  and  their  anger  was  kindled  ex- 
ceedingly at  the  words  of  the  kings 
of  Canaan,  and  ten  of  the  sons  of 
Jacob  hastened  and  rose  up,  and 
each  of  them  girt  on  his  weapons  of 
war  ;  and  there  were  one  hundred 
*  Hebrew,  a  book  or  record. 


no 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


and  two  of  their  servants  with  them 
equipped  in  battle  array. 

13.  And  all  these  men  the  sons  of' 
Jacob  with  their  servants  went  to- 
ward these  kings,  and  Jacob  their 
father  was  with  them,  and  they  all 
stood  upon  the  heap  of  Shechem. 

J  4.  And  Jacob  prayed  to  the  Lord 
for  his  sons,  and  he  spread  forth  his 
hands  to  the  Lord,  and  he  said,  O 
God,  thou  art  an  Almight)'^  God,  thou 
art  our  father,  thou  didst  form  us  and 
we  are  the  works  of  thine  hands  ;  I 
pray  thee  deliver  my  sons  through  thy 
mercy  from  tlie  hand  of  their  ene- 
mies, who  are  this  day  coming  to 
fight  with  them,  and  save  them  from 
their  hand,  for  in  thy  hand  is  power 
and  might,  to  save  the  few  from  the 
many. 

15.  And  give  unto  my  sons,  thy 
servants,  strength  of  heart  and  might 
to  fight  with  their  enemies,  to  subdue 
them,  and  make  their  enemies  fall 
before  them,  and  let  not  my  sons  and 
their  servants  die  through  the  hands 
of  the  children  of  Canaan, 

16.  But  if  it  seemeth  good  in  thine 
eyes  to  take  away  the  lives  of  my 
sons  and  their  servants,  take  them  in 
thy  great  mercy  through  the  hand  of 
thy  ministers,*  that  they  may  not 
perish  this  day  by  the  hands  of  the 
kings  of  the  Amorites. 

17.  And  when  Jacob  ceased  pray- 
ing to  the  Lord  the  earth  shook  from 
its  place,  and  the  sun  darkened,  and 
all  these  kings  were  terrified  and  a 
great  consternation  seized  them. 

]  8.  And  the  Lord  hearkened  to  the 
prayer  of  Jacob,  and  the  Lord  im- 
pressed the  hearts  of  all  the  kings 
and  their  hosts  with  the  terror  and 
awe  of  the  sons  of  Jacob, 

19.  For  the  Lord  caused  them  to 
hear  the  voice  of  chariots,  and  the 
*  Angels  or  messengers. 


voice  of  mighty  horses  from  the  sons 
of  Jacob,  and  the  voice  of  a  great 
army  accompanying  them. 

20.  And  these  kings  were  seized 
with  great  terror  at  the  sons  of  Jacob, 
and  whilst  they  were  standing  in 
their  quarters,  behold  the  sons  of  Ja- 
cob advanced  upon  them,  with  one 
hundred  and  twelve  men,  with  a  great 
and  tremendous  shouting. 

21.  And  when  the  kings  saw  the 
sons  of  Jacob  advancing  toward  them, 
they  were  still  more  panic  struck, 
and  they  wei'e  inclined  to  retreat 
from  before  the  sons  of  Jacob  as  at 
first,  and  not  to  fight  with  them. 

22.  But  they  did  not  retreat,  say- 
ing, it  would  be  a  disgrace  to  us  thus 
twice  to  retreat  from  before  the  He- 
brews. 

28,  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  came 
near  and  advanced  against  all  these 
kings  and  their  armies,  and  they  saw, 
and  behold  it  was  a  very  mighty  peo- 
ple, numerous  as  the  sand  of  the 
sea, 

24.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  called 
unto  the  Lord  and  said,  help  us  O 
Lord,  help  us  and  answer  us,  for  we 
trust  in  thee,  and  let  us  not  die  by 
the  hands  of  these  uncircumcised 
men,  who  this  day  have  come  against 
us, 

25.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  girt  on 
their  weapons  of  war,  and  they  took 
in  their  hands  each  man  his  shield 
and  his  javelin,  and  they  approached 
to  battle, 

26.  And  Judah,  the  son  of  Jacob, 
ran  first  before  his  brethren,  and  ten 
of  his  servants  with  him,  and  he  went 
toward  these  kings. 

27.  And  Jashub,  king  of  Tapnach, 
also  came  forth  first  with  his  army 
before  Judah,  and  Judah  saw  Jashub 
and  his  army  coming  toward  him, 
and  Judah's  wrath  was  kindled,  and 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


Ill 


his  anger  burned  within  him,  and  he 
approached  to  battle  in  which  Judah 
ventured  his  hfc.* 

28.  And  Jashub  and  all  his  army 
were  advancing  toward  Judah,  and 
he  was  riding  upon  a  very  strong  and 
powerful  horse,  and  Jashub  was  a 
very  valiant  man,  and  covered  with 
iron  and  brass  from  head  to  foot. 

29.  And  wiiilst  he  was  upon  the 
liorse,  he  shot  arrows  with  both  hands 
from  before  and  behind,  as  was  his 
manner  in  all  his  battles,  and  he  ne- 
ver missed  the  place  to  which  he 
aimed  his  arrows. 

30.  And  wlien  Jashub  came  to 
fight  witii  Judah,  and  was  darting 
many  arrows  against  Judah,  the  Lord 
bound  the  hand  of  Jashub,  and  all 
the  arrows  that  he  shot  rebounded 
upon  his  own  men. 

31.  And  notwithstanding  this,  Ja- 
shub kept  advancing  toward  Judah, 
to  challenge  him  with  the  arrows, 
but  the  distance  between  them  was 
about  thirty  cubits,  and  when  Judah 
saw  Jashub  darling  forth  his  arrows 
against  him,  he  ran  to  him  with  his 
wrath-excited  might. 

32.  And  Judah  took  up  a  large 
stone  from  the  ground,  and  its  weight 
was  sixty  shekels,  and  Judah  ran  to- 
ward Jashub,  and  with  the  stone 
struck  him  on  his  shield,  that  Jashub 
was  stunned  with  the  blow,  and  fell 
off  from  his  horse  to  the  ground. 

33.  And  the  shield  burst  asunder 
out  of  the  hand  of  Jashub,  and  through 
the  force  of  the  blow  sprang  to  the 
distance  of  about  fifteen  cubits,  and 
the  shield  fell  before  the  second 
camp. 

34.  And  the  kings  that  came  with 
Jashub  saw  at  a  distance  the  strength 
of  Judah,  the  son  of  Jacob,  and  what 

*  The  literal  tran.slation  of  this  is,  "  and  Ju- 
dah gave  his  soul  to  die." 


he  had  done  to  Jashub,  and  they  were 
terribly  afraid  of  Judah. 

35.  And  they  assembled  near  Ja- 
shub's  camp,  seeing  his  confusion, 
and  Judah  drew  his  sword  and  smote 
forty-two  men  of  the  camp  of  Jashub, 
and  the  whole  of  Jashub's  camp  fled 
before  Judah,  and  no  man  stood 
against  him,  and  they  left  Jashub 
and  fled  from  him,  and  Jashub  was 
still  prostrate  upon  the  ground. 

3(3.  And  Jashub  seeing  that  all  the 
men  of  his  camp  had  fled  from  him, 
hastened  and  rose  up  with  terror 
against  Judah,  and  stood  upon  his 
legs  opposite  Judah. 

37.  And  Jashub  had  a  single  com- 
bat with  Judah,  placing  shield  toward 
shield,  and  Jashub's  men  all  fled,  for 
they  were  greatly  afraid  of  Judah. 

38.  And  Jashub  took  his  spear  in 
his  hand  to  strike  Judah  upon  his 
head,  but  Judah  had  quickly  placed 
his  shield  to  his  head  against  Ja- 
shub's spear,  so  that  the  shield  of 
Judah  received  the  blow  from  Ja- 
shub's spear,  and  the  shield  was  split 
in  two, 

39.  And  when  Judah  saw  that  his 
shield  was  split,  he  hastily  drew  his 
sword  and  smote  Jashub  at  his  an- 
cles, and  cut  off  his  feet  that  Jashub 
fell  upon  the  ground,  and  the  spear 
fell  from  his  hand. 

40.  And  Judah  hastily  picked  up 
Jashub's  spear,  with  which  he  sever- 
ed his  head  and  cast  it  next  to  his 
feet. 

41.  And  when  the  sons  of  Jacob 
saw  what  Judah  had  done  to  Jashub, 
they  all  ran  into  the  ranks  of  the  other 
kings,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob  fought 
with  the  army  of  Jashub,  and  the  ar- 
mies of  all  the  kings  that  were  there, 

42.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  caused 
fifteen  thousand  of  their  men  to  fall, 
and  they  smote  them  as  if  smiting  at 


112 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


gourds,  and  the  rest  fled  for  their 
hves. 

43.  And  Judah  was  still  standing 
by  the  body  of  Jashub,  and  stripped 
Jashub  of  his  coat  of  mail. 

44.  And  Judah  also  took  off  the 
iron  and  brass  tliat  was  about  Jashub, 
and  behold  nine  men  of  the  captains 
of  Jashub  came  alone  to  fight  against 
Judah. 

45.  And  Judah  hastened  and  took 
up  a  stone  from  the  ground,  and  with 
it  smote  ofie  of  them  upon  the  head, 
and  his  skull  was  fractured,  and  the 
body  also  fell  from  the  horse  to  the 
ground. 

46.  And  the  eight  captains  that 
remained,  seeing  the  strength  of  Ju- 
dah, were  greatly  afraid  and  they 
fled,  and  Judah  with  his  ten  men  pur- 
sued them,  and  they  overtook  them 
and  slew  them. 

47.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  were 
still  smiting  the  armies  of  the  kings, 
and  they  slew  many  of  them,  but 
those  kings  daringly  kept  their  stand 
with  their  captains,  and  did  not  re- 
treat from  their  places,  and  they  ex- 
claimed against  tliose  of  their  armies 
that  fled  from  before  the  sons  of  Ja- 
cob, but  none  would  listen  to  them, 
for  they  were  afraid  of  their  lives  lest 
they  should  die. 

48.  And  all  the  sons  of  Jacob,  af- 
ter having  smitten  the  armies  of  the 
kings,  returned  and  came  before  Ju- 
dah, and  Judah  was  still  slaying  the 
eight  captains  gf  Jashub,  and  strip- 
ping off"  their  garments. 

49.  And  Levi  saw  Elon,  king  of 
Gaash,  advancing  toward  him,  with 
his  fourteen  captains  to  smite  him, 
but  Levi  did  not  know  it /or  certain. 

50.  And  Elon  with  his  captains 
approached  nearer,  and  Levi  looked 
back  and  saw  that  battle  was  given 
him  in  the  rear,  and  Levi  ran  with 


twelve  of  his  servants,  and  they 
went  and  slew  Elon  and  his  captains 
with  the  edge  of  the  sword. 

CHAPTER  XXXVIIL 

1 .  And  Ihuri  king  of  Shiloh  came 
up  to  assist  Elon,  and  he  approached 
Jacob,'  when  Jacob  drew  his  bow 
that  was  in  his  hand  and  with  an  ar- 
row struck  Ihuri  which  caused  his 
death. 

2.  And  when  Ihuri  king  of  Shiloh 
was  dead,  the  four  remaining  kings 
fled  from  their  station  with  the  rest 
of  the  captains,  and  they  endeavor- 
ed to  retreat,  saying,  we  have  no  more 
strength  with  the  Hebrews  after  their 
having  killed  the  three  kings  and 
their  captains  who  were  more  power- 
ful than  we  are. 

3.  And  when  the  sons  of  Jacob 
saw  that  the  remaining  kings  had  re- 
moved from  their  station,  they  pur- 
sued them,  and  Jacob  also  came  from 
the  heap  of  Shechem  from  the  place 
where  he  was  standing,  and  they 
went  after  the  kings  and  they  ap- 
proached them  with  their  servants. 

4.  And  the  kings  and  the  captains 
with  the  rest  of  their  armies,  seeing 
that  the  sons  of  Jacob  approached 
them,  were  afraid  of  their  lives  and 
fled  tdl  they  reached  the  city  of 
Chazar. 

5.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  pursued 
them  to  the  gate  of  the  city  of  Cha- 
zar, and  they  smote  a  great  smiting 
amongst  the  kings  and  their  armies, 
about  four  thousand  men,  and  whilst 
they  were  smiting  the  army  of  the 
kings  Jacob  was  occupied  with  his 
bow  confining  himself  to  smiting  the 
kings,  and  he  slew  them  all. 

6.  And  he  slew  Parathon  king  of 
Chazar  at  the  gate  of  the  city  of 
Chazar,  and  he  afterward  smote  Susi 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


118 


king  of  Sarton,  and  Laban  king  of 
Bethcliorin,and  Shabir  king  of  Mach- 
naymah,  and  he  slew  ihcm  all  with 
arrows,  an  arrow  to  each  of  ihem, 
and  they  died. 

7.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  seeing 
that  all  the  kings  were  dead  and  that 
they  were  broken  up  and  retreating, 
continued  to  carry  on  the  battle  with 
the  armies  of  the  kings  opposite  the 
gate  of  Chazar,  and  they  still  smote 
about  four  hundred  of  their  men. 

8.  And  three  men  of  the  servants 
of  Jacob  fell  in  that  battle,  and  when 
Judah  saw  that  three  of  his  ser- 
vants had  died,  it  grieved  him  greatly, 
and  his  anger  burned  within  him 
against  the  Amorites. 

9.  And  all  the  men  that  remained 
of  the  armies  of  the  kings  were 
greatly  afraid  of  their  lives,  and  they 
ran  and  broke  the  gate  of  the  walls 
of  the  city  of  Chazar,  and  they  all 
entered  the  city  for  safety. 

10.  And  they  concealed  them- 
selves in  the  midst  of  the  city  of  Cha- 
zar, for  the  city  of  Chazar  was  very 
large  and  extensive,  and  when  all 
these  armies  had  entered  the  city, 
the  sons  of  Jacob  ran  after  them  to 
the  city. 

1 1 .  And  four  mighty  men,  experi- 
enced in  battle,  went  forth  from  the 
city  and  stood  against  the  entrance 
of  the  city,  with  drawn  swords  and 
spears  in  their  hands,  and  they  placed 
themselves  opposite  the  sons  of  Ja- 
cob, and  would  not  suffer  them  to 
enter  the  citv. 

12.  And  Naphtali  ran  and  came 
between  them  and  with  his  sword 
smote  two  of  them,  and  cut  off  their 
heads  at  one  stroke. 

13.  And  he  turned  to  the  other 
two,  and  behold  they  had  fled,  and 
he  pursued  them,  overtook  them, 
smote  them  and  slew  them. 

8 


14.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  came 
to  the  city  and  saw,  and  beiiold  there 
was  another  wall  to  the  city,  and 
they  sought  for  the  gate  of  the  wall 
and  could  not  find  it,  and  Judah 
sprang  upon  the  top  of  the  wall,  and 
Simeon  and  Levi  followed  ium  and 
they  all  three  descended  from  the 
wall  into  the  city. 

1 .5.  And  Simeon  and  Levi  slew  all 
the  men  who  ran  for  safety  into  the 
city,  and  also  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city  with  their  wives  and  little  ones, 
they  slew  with  the  edge  of  the  sword, 
and  the  cries  of  the  city  ascended  up 
to  heaven. 

16.  And  Dan  and  Naphtali  sprang 
upon  the  wall  to  see  what  caused  the 
noise  of  lamentation,  for  the  sons  of 
Jacob  felt  anxious  about  their  bro- 
thers, and  they  heard  the  inhabitants 
of  the  city  speaking  with  weeping 
and  supplications,  saying,  take  all 
that  we  possess  in  the  city  and  go 
away,  only  do  not  put  us  to  death. 

17.  And  when  Judah,  Simeon  and 
Levi,  had  ceased  smiting  the  iidiabi- 
tants  of  the  city,  they  ascended  the 
wall  and  called  to  Dan  and  Naphtali, 
who  were  upon  the  wall,  and  to  the 
rest  of  their  brothers,  and  Simeon  and 
Levi  informed  them  of  the  entrance 
into  the  city,  and  all  the  sons  of  Ja- 
cob came  to  fetch  the  spoil. 

18.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  took 
the  spoil  of  the  city  of  Chazar,  the 
flocks  and  herds,  and  the  property, 
and  they  took  all  that  could  be  cap- 
ti>red  and  went  away  that  day  from 
the  city. 

19.  And  on  the  next  day  the  sons 
of  Jacob  went  to  Sarton,  for  they 
heard  that  the  men  of  Sarton  who 
had  remained  in  the  city  were  as- 
sembling to  fight  with  them  for  hav- 
ing slain  their  king,  and  Sarton  was 
a  very  high  and  fortified  city,  and  it 


114 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


had  a  deep  rampart  surrounding  the 
city. 

20.  And  the  pillar  of  the  rampart 
was  about  fifty  cubits  and  its  breadth 
forty  cubits,  and  there  was  no  place 
for  a  man  to  enter  the  city  on  ac- 
count of  the  rampart,  and  the  sons 
of  Jacob  saw  the  rampart  of  the  city 
and  they  sought  an  entrance  in  it  but 
could  not  find  it. 

21.  For  the  entrance  to  the  city 
was  at  the  rear,  and  every  man  that 
wished  to  come  into  the  city  came  by 
that  road  and  went  round  the  whole 
city,  and  he  afterward  entered  the 
city. 

22.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  seeing 
they  could  not  find  the  way  into  the 
city,  their  anger  was  kindled  greatly, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  see- 
ing that  the  sons  of  Jacob  were  com- 
ing to  them  were  greatly  afraid  of 
them,  for  they  had  heard  of  their 
strength  and  what  they  had  done  to 
Chazar. 

23.  And  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city  of  Sarton  could  not  go  out  to- 
ward the  sons  of  Jacob  after  having 
assembled  in  the  city  to  fight  against 
them,  lest  they  might  thereby  get 
into  the  city,  but  when  they  saw 
that  they  were  coming  toward  them, 
they  were  greatly  afraid  of  them,  for 
they  had  heard  of  their  strength  and 
what  they  had  done  to  Chazar. 

24.  So  the  inhabitants  of  Sarton 
speedily  took  away  the  bridge  of 
the  road  of  the  city,  from  its  place, 
before  the  sons  of  Jacob  came,  and 
they  brought  it  into  the  city. 

25.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  came 
and  sought  the  way  into  the  city,  and 
could  not  find  it,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  the  city  went  up  to  the  top  of  the 
wall,  and  saw,  and  behold  the  sons 
of  Jacob  were  seeking  an  entrance 
into  the  city. 


26.  And  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city  reproached  the  sons  of  Jacob 
from  the  top  of  the  wall,  and  they 
cursed  them,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob 
heard  the  reproaches  and  they  were 
greatly  incensed,  and  their  anger 
burned  within  them. 

27.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  were 
provoked  at  them,  and  they  all  rose 
and  sprang  over  the  rampart  with 
the  force  of  their  strength,  and 
through  their  might  passed  the  forty 
cubits'  breadth  of  the  rampart. 

28.  And  when  they  had  passed 
the  rampart  they  stood  under  the 
wall  of  the  city,  and  they  found  all 
the  gates  of  the  city  enclosed  with 
iron  doors. 

29.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  came 
near  to  break  open  the  doors  of  the 
gates  of  the  city,  and  the  inhabitants 
did  not  let  them,  for  from  the  top  of 
the  wall  they  were  casting  stones 
and  arrows  upon  them. 

30.  And  the  number  of  the  people 
that  were  upon  the  wall  was  about 
four  hundred  men,  and  when  the 
sons  of  Jacob  saw  that  the  men  of 
the  city  would  not  let  them  open  the 
gates  of  the  city,  they  sprang  and 
ascended  the  top  of  the  wall,  and 
Judah  went  up  first  to  the  east  part 
of  the  city. 

31.  And  Gad  and  Asher  went  up 
after  him  to  the  west  corner  of  the 
city,  and  Simeon  and  Levi  to  the 
north,  and  Dan  and  Reuben  to  the 
south. 

32.  And  the  men  who  were  on 
the  top  of  the  wall,  the  inhabitants 
of  the  city,  seeing  that  the  sons  of 
Jacob  were  coming  up  to  them,  they 
all  fled  from  the  wall,  descended  in- 
to the  city,  and  concealed  themselves 
in  the  midst  of  the  city. 

33.  And  Issachar  and  Naphtali 
that  remained   under   the  wall    ap- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


115 


preached  and  broke  the  gates  of  the 
city,  and  kindled  a  fire  at  the  gates 
of  the  city,  that  tiie  iron  niehed,  and 
all  the  sons  of  Jacob  came  into  the 
city,  they  and  all  their  men,  and  they 
fought  with  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city  of  Sarton,  and  smote  them  with 
the  edge  of  the  sword,  and  no  man 
stood  up  before  them. 

34.  And  about  two  hundred  men 
fled  from  the  city,  and  they  all  went 
and  hid  themselves  in  a  certain  tower 
in  the  city,  and  Judah  pursued  them 
to  the  tower  and  he  broke  down  the 
tower,  which  fell  upon  the  men,  and 
they  all  died. 

35.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  went 
up  the  road  of  the  roof  of  that  tower, 
and  they  saw,  and  behold  there  was 
another  strong  and  high  tower  at  a 
distance  in  the  city,  and  the  top  of  it 
reached  to  heaven,*  and  the  sons  of 
Jacob  hastened  and  descended,  and 
went  with  all  their  men  to  that  tower, 
and  found  it  filled  with  about  three 
hundred  men,  women  and  little 
ones. 

36.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  smote 
a  great  smiting  amongst  those  men 
in  the  tower,  and  they  ran  away  and 
fled  from  them. 

37.  And  Simeon  and  Levi  pur- 
sued them,  when  twelve  mighty  and 
valiant  men  came  out  to  them  from 
the  place  where  they  had  concealed 
themselves. 

38.  And  those  twelve  men  main- 
tained a  strong  battle  against  Simeon 
and  Levi,  and  Simeon  and  Levi 
could  not  prevail  over  them,  and 
those  valiant  men  broke  the  shields 
of  Simeon  and  Levi,  and  one  of  them 
struck  at  Levi's  head  with  his  sword, 
when  Levi  hastily  placed  his  hand 
to  his  head,  for  he  was  afraid  of  the 

*  This  is  a  figurative  expression  in  the  He- 
brew, ta  express  an  exceeding  great  height. 


sword,  and  the  sword  struck  Levi's 
hand,  and  it  wanted  but  little  to  the 
hand  of  Levi  being  cut  off. 

39.  And  Levi  seized  the  sword  of 
the  valiant  man  in  his  hand,  and  took 
it  forcibly  from  the  man,  and  with  it 
he  struck  at  the  head  of  the  power- 
ful man,  and  he  severed  his  head. 

40.  And  eleven  men  approached 
to  fight  with  Levi,  for  they  saw  that 
one  of  them  was  killed,  and  the 
sons  of  Jacob  fought,  but  the  sons  of 
Jacob  could  not  prevail  over  them, 
for  those  men  were  very  powerful, 

41.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  seeing 
that  they  could  not  prevail  over  them, 
Simeon  gave  a  loud  and  tremendous 
shriek,  and  the  eleven  powerful  men 
were  stunned  at  the  voice  of  Sime- 
on's shrieking. 

42.  And  Judah  at  a  distance  knew 
the  voice  of  Simeon's  shouting,  and 
Naphtali  and  Judah  ran  with  their 
shields  to  Simeon  and  Levi,  and 
found  them  fighting  with  those  pow- 
erful men,  unable  to  prevail  over 
them  as  their  shields  were  broken. 

43.  And  Naphtali  saw  that  the 
shields  of  Simeon  and  Levi  were 
broken,  and  he  took  two  shields 
from  his  servants  and  brought  them 
to  Simeon  and  Levi. 

44.  And  Simeon,  Levi  and  Judah 
on  that  day  fought  all  three  against 
the  eleven  mighty  men  until  the  time 
of  sunset,  but  they  could  not  prevail 
over  them. 

45.  And  this  was  to}d  unto  Jacob, 
and  he  was  sorely  grieved,  and  he 
prayed  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  and 
Naphtali  his  son  went  against  these 
mighty  men. 

46.  And  Jacob  approached  and 
drew  his  bow,  and  came  nigh  unto 
the  mighty  men,  and  slew  three  of 
their  men  with  the  bow,  and  the  re- 
maining eight  turned  back,  and  be- 


116 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


hold,  the  war  waged  against  them  in 
the  front  and  rear,  and  thev  were 
greatly  afraid  of  their  lives,  and  could 
not  stand  before  the  sons  of  Jacob, 
and  they  fled  from  before  them. 

47.  And  in  their  fliglit  they  met 
Dan  and  Asher  coming  toward  them, 
and  they  suddenly  fell  upon  them, 
and  fought  with  them,  and  slew  two 
of  them,  and  Judah  and  his  brothers 
pursued  them,  and  smote  the  remain- 
der of  them,  and  slew  them. 

48.  And  all  the  sons  of  Jacob  re- 
turned and  walked  about  the  city, 
searching  if  they  could  find  any  men, 
and  they  found  about  twenty  young 
men  in  a  cave  in  the  city,  and  Gad 
and  Asher  smote  them  all,  and  Dan 
and  Naphtali  lighted  upon  the  rest 
of  the  men  who  had  fled  and  escaped 
from  the  second  tower,  and  thev 
smote  them  all. 

49.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  smote 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Sar- 
ton,  but  the  women  and  little  ones 
ihey  left  in  the  city  and  did  not  slay 
them. 

50.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city  of  Sarton  were  powerful  men, 
one  of  them  would  pursue  a  thou- 
sand, and  two  of  them  would  not  flee 
from  ten  thousand  of  the  rest  of 
men. 

51.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  slew 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Sar- 
ton with  the  edge  of  the  sword,  that 
no  man  stood  up  against  them,  and 
they  left  the  women  in  the  city. 

52.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  took  all 
the  spoil  of  the  city,  and  captured 
what  they  desired,  and  they  took 
flocks  and  herds  and  property  from 
the  city,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob  did 
unto  Sarton  and  its  inhabitants  as 
they  had  done  to  Chazar  and  its  in- 
habitants, and  they  turned  and  went 
away. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

1.  And  when  the  sons  of  Jacob 
went  from  the  city  of  Sarton,  they 
had  gone  about  two  hundred  cubits 
when  they  met  the  inhabitants  of 
Tapnach  coming  toward  them,  for 
they  went  out  to  fight  with  them, 
because  they  had  smitten  the  king 
of  Tapnach  and  all  his  men. 

2.  So  all  that  remained  in  the  city 
of  Tapnach  come  out  to  fight  with 
the  sons  of  Jacob,  and  they  thought 
to  retake  from  them  the  booty  and 
the  spoil  which  they  had  captured 
from  Chazar  and  Sarton. 

3.  And  the  rest  of  the  men  of  Tap- 
nach fought  with  the  sons  of  Jacob 
in  that  place,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob 
smote  them,  and  they  fled  before 
them,  and  they  pursued  them  to  the 
city  of  Arbelan,  and  they  all  fell  be- 
fore the  sons  of  Jacob. 

4.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  returned 
and  came  to  Tapnach,  to  take  away 
the  spoil  of  Tapnach,  and  when  they 
came  to  Tapnach  they  heard  that  the 
people  of  Arbelan  had  gone  out  to 
meet  them  to  save  the  spoil  of  their 
brethren,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob  left 
ten  of  their  men  in  Tapnach  to  plun- 
der the  city,  and  they  went  out  to- 
ward the  people  of  Arbelan. 

5.  And  the  men  of  Arbelan  went 
out  with  their  wives  to  fight  with  the 
sons  of  Jacob,  for  their  wives  were 
experienced  in  battle,  and  they  went 
out,  about  four  hundred  men  and 
women. 

6.  And  all  the  sons  of  Jacob  shout- 
ed with  a  loud  voice,  and  they  all  ran 
toward  the  inhabitants  of  Arbelan, 
and  with  a  great  and  tremendous 
voice. 

7.  And  the  inhabitants  of  Arbelan 
heard  the  noise  of  the  shouting  of  the 
sons  of  Jacob,  and  their  roaring  like 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


117 


the  noise  of  lions  and  like  the  roaring 
of  the  sea  and  its  waves. 

8.  And  fear  and  terror  possessed 
their  hearts  on  account  of  the  sons 
of  Jacob,  and  they  were  terribly  afraid 
of  them,  and  they  retreated  and  fled 
before  them  into  the  city,  and  the 
sons  of  Jacob  pursued  them  to  the 
gate  of  the  city,  and  they  came  upon 
them  in  the  city. 

9.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  fought 
with  them  in  the  city,  and  all  their 
women  were  engaged  in  slinging 
against  the  sons  of  Jacob,  and  the 
combat  was  very  severe  amongst 
them  the  whole  of  that  day  till  evening. 

10.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  could 
not  prevail  over  them,  and  the  sons 
of  Jacob  had  almost  perished  in  that 
battle,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob  cried 
unto  the  Lord  and  greatly  gained 
strength  toward  evening,  and  the  sons 
of  Jacob  smote  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Arbelan  by  the  edge  of  the  sword, 
men,  women  and  little  ones. 

1 1 .  And  also  the  remainder  of  the 
people  who  had  fled  from  Sarton,  the 
sons  of  Jacob  smote  them  in  Arbe- 
lan, and  the  sons  of  Jacob  did  unto 
Arbelan  and  Tapnach  as  they  had 
done  to  Chazar  and  Sarton,  and  when 
the  women  saw  that  all  their  men 
were  dead,  they  went  upon  the  roofs 
of  the  city  and  smote  the  sons  of  Ja- 
cob by  showering  down  stones  like 
lain. 

12.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  hasten- 
ed and  came  into  the  city  and  seized 
all  the  women  and  smote  them  with 
the  edge  of  the  sword,  and  the  sons 
of  Jacob  captured  all  the  spoil  and 
booty,  flocks  and  herds  and  cattle. 

1 3.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  did  unto 
Machnaymah  as  they  had  done  to 
Tapnach,  to  Chazar  and  to  Shiloh, 
and  they  turned  from  there  and  went 
away. 


14.  And  on  the  fifth  day  the  sons 
of  Jacob  heard  that  llie  people  of 
Gaash  iiad  gathered  against  them  to 
battle,  because  they  had  slain  their 
king  and  their  captains,  for  there  had 
been  fourteen  captains  in  tiie  city  of 
Gaash,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob  had 
slain  them  all  in  the  first  battle. 

15  And  tiie  sons  of  Jacob  that  day 
girt  on  their  weapons  of  war,  and 
they  marched  to  battle  against  the 
inhabitants  of  Gaash,  and  in  Gaash 
there  was  a  strong  and  mighty  peo- 
ple of  the  people  of  the  Amorites, 
and  Gaash  was  the  strongest  and 
best  fortified  city  of  all  the  cities  of 
the  Amorites,  and  it  had  three  walls. 

16.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  came 
to  Gaash  and  they  found  the  gates 
of  the  city  locked,  and  about  five 
hundred  men  standing  at  the  top  of 
the  outermost  wall,  and  a  people 
numerous  as  the  sand  upon  the  sea 
shore  were  in  ambush  for  the  sons 
of  Jacob  from  without  the  city  at  the 
rear  thereof. 

17.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  ap- 
proached to  open  the  gates  of  tiie 
city,  and  whilst  they  were  drawing 
nigh,  behold  those  who  were  in  am- 
bush at  the  rear  of  the  city  came 
forth  from  their  places  and  surround- 
ed the  sons  of  Jacob. 

18.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  were 
enclosed  between  the  people  of 
Gaash,  and  the  battle  was  both  to 
their  front  and  rear,  and  all  the  men 
that  were  upon  the  wall,  were  cast- 
ing from  the  wall  upon  them,  arrows 
and  stones. 

19.  And  Judah,  seeing  that  the 
men  of  Gaash  were  getting  too  heavy 
for  them,  gave  a  most  piercing  and 
tremendous  shriek  and  all  the  men 
of  Gaash  were  terrified  at  the  voice 
of  Judah's  cry,  and  men  fell  from  the 
wall  at  his  powerful  shriek,  and  all 


118 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


those  that  were  from  without  and 
within  the  city  were  greatly  afraid 
of  their  Hves. 

20.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  still 
came  nigh  to  break  the  doors  of  the 
city,  when  the  men  of  Gaash  threw 
stones  and  arrows  upon  them  from 
the  top  of  the  wall,  and  made  them 
flee  from  the  gate. 

21.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  re- 
turned against  the  men  of  Gaash 
who  were  with  them  from  without 
the  city,  and  they  smote  them  ter- 
ribly, as  striking  against  gourds,  and 
they  could  not  stand  against  the  sons 
of  Jacob,  for  fright  and  terror  had 
seized  them  at  the  shriek  of  Judah. 

22.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  slew 
all  those  men  ivho  were  from  with- 
out the  city,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob 
still  drew  nigh  to  effect  an  entrance 
into  the  city,  and  to  fight  under  the 
city  walls,  but  they  could  not  for  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Gaash  who  re- 
mained in  the  city  had  surrounded 
the  walls  of  Gaash  in  every  direction, 
so  that  the  sons  of  Jacob  were  unable 
to  approach  the  city  to  fight  with 
them. 

23.  And  as  the  sons  of  Jacob 
came  nigh  to  one  corner  to  fight  un- 
der the  wall,  the  inhabitants  of  Gaash 
threw  arrows  and  stones  upon  them 
like  showers  of  rain,  and  they  fled 
from  under  the  wall. 

24.  And  the  people  of  Gaash  who 
were  upon  the  wall,  seeing  that  the 
sons  of  Jacob  could  not  prevail  over 
them  from  under  the  wall,  reproach- 
ed the  sons  of  Jacob  in  these  words ; 
saying , 

25.  What  is  the  matter  with  you 
in  the  battle  that  you  cannot  prevail  ? 
can  you  then  do  unto  the  mighty  city 
of  Gaash  and  its  inhabitants  as  you 
did  to  the  cities  of  the  Amorites  that 
were  not   so  powerful  ?    Surely  to 


those  weak  ones  amongst  us  you  did 
those  things,  and  slew  them  in  the 
entrance  of  the  city,  for  they  had  no 
strength  when  they  were  terrified  at 
the  sound  of  your  shouting. 

26.  And  will  you  now  then  be 
able  to  fight  in  this  place  ?  Surely 
here  you  will  all  die,  and  we  will 
avenge  the  cause  of  those  cities  that 
you  have  laid  waste. 

27.  And  the  inhabitants  of  Gaash 
greatly  reproached  the  sons  of  Jacob 
and  reviled*  them  with  their  gods, 
and  continued  to  cast  arrows  and 
stones  upon  them  from  the  wall. 

28.  And  Judah  and  his  brothers 
heard  the  words  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Gaash  and  their  anger  was  greatly 
roused,  and  Judah  was  jealous  of  his 
God  in  this  matter,  and  he  called  out 
and  said,  0  Lord,  help,  send  help  to 
us  and  our  brothers. 

29.  And  he  ran  at  a  distance  with 
all  his  might,  with  his  drawn  sword 
in  his  hand,  and  he  sprang  from  the 
earth  and  by  dint  of  his  strength, 
mounted  the  wall,  and  his  sword  fell 
from  his  hand. 

30.  And  Judah  shouted  upon  the 
wall,  and  all  the  men  that  were  upon 
the  wall  were  terrified,  and  some  of 
them  fell  from  the  wall  into  the  city 
and  died,  and  those  who  were  yet 
upon  the  wall,  when  they  saw  Judah's 
strength,  they  were  greatly  afraid 
and  fled  for  their  lives  into  the  city 
for  safety. 

31.  And  some  were  emboldened 
to  fight  with  Judah  upon  the  wall, 
and  thev  came  nigh  to  slay  him  when 
they  saw  there  was  no  sword  in 
Judah's  hand,  and  they  thought  of 

*  They  reviled  the  God  of  the  sons  of  Jacob, 
as  inferred  from  the  next  verse,  "  and  Judah  was 
jealous  of  his  God,"  as  d.-i'dSkj  onSSp'l  might 
bear  the  translation,  and  they  reviled  or  cursed 
them  by  their  own  gods,  or  using  the  names  of 
their  idols  m  their  execrations. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


119 


casting  him  from  tlie  wall  to  liis 
brothers,  and  twenty  men  of  the  city 
came  up  to  assist  them,  and  they  sur- 
rounded Judah  and  they  all  shouted 
over  him,  and  approached  him  with 
drawn  swords,  and  they  terrified 
Judah,  and  Judah  cried  out  to  his 
brothers  from  the  wall. 

32.  And  Jacob  and  his  sons  drew 
the  bow  from  under  the  wall,  and 
smote  three  of  the  men  that  were 
upon  the  top  of  the  wall,  and  Judah 
continued  to  cry  and  he  exclaimed, 
O  Lord  help  us,  0  Lord  deliver  us, 
and  he  cried  out  with  a  loud  voice 
upon  the  wall,  and  the  cry  was  heard 
at  a  great  distance. 

33.  And  after  this  cry  he  again 
repeated  to  shout,  and  all  the  men 
wdio  surrounded  Judah  on  the  top  of 
the  wall  were  terrified,  and  they 
each  threw  his  sword  from  his  hand 
at  the  sound  of  Judah's  shouting  and 
his  tremor,  and  fled. 

34.  And  Judah  took  the  swords 
which  had  fallen  from  their  hands, 
and  Judah  fought  with  them  and  slew 
twenty  of  their  men  upon  the  wall. 

35.  And  about  eighty  men  and 
women  still  ascended  the  wall  from 
the  city  and  they  all  surrounded  Ju- 
dah, and  the  Lord  impressed  the  fear 
of  Judah  intheirhearts,  that  they  were 
unable  to  approach  him. 

36.  And  Jacob  and  all  who  were 
with  him  drew  the  bow  from  under 
the  wall,  and  they  slew  ten  men  upon 
the  wall,  and  they  fell  below  the  wall, 
before  Jacob  and  his  sons. 

37.  And  the  people  upon  the  wall 
seeing  that  twenty  of  their  men  had 
fallen,  they  still  ran  toward  Judah 
with  drawn  swords,  but  they  could 
not  approach  him  for  they  were  great- 
ly terrified  at  Judah's  strength. 

38.  And  one  of  their  mighty  men 
whose  name  was  Arud  approached 


to  strike  Judah  upon  tlic  head  witii 
liis  sword,  when  Judah  hastily  put 
his  shield  to  his  head,  and  the  sword 
hit  the  shield,  and  it  was  split  in  two. 

39.  And  this  mighty  man  after  he 
had  struck  Judah  ran  for  his  life,  at 
the  fear  of  Judah,  and  his  feet  slip- 
ped upon  the  wall  and  he  fell  amongst 
the  sons  of  Jacob  ivho  loere  below 
the  wall,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob 
smote  him  and  slew  him. 

40.  'And  Judah's  head  pained  him 
from  the  blow  of  the  powerful  man, 
and  Judah  had  nearly  died  from  it. 

41.  And  Judah  cried  out  upon  the 
wall  owing  to  the  pain  produced  by 
the  blow,  when  Dan  heard  him,  and 
his  anger  burned  within  him,  and  he 
also  rose  up  and  went  at  a  distance 
and  ran  and  sprang  from  the  earth 
and  mounted  the  wall  with  his  wrath 
excited  strength. 

42.  And  when  Dan  came  upon  the 
wall  near  unto  Judah  all  the  men 
upon  the  wall  fled,  who  had  stood 
against  Judah,  and  they  went  up  to 
the  second  wall,  and  they  threw  ar- 
rows and  stones  upon  Dan  and  Judah 
from  the  second  wall,  and  endeavor- 
ed to  drive  them  from  the  wall. 

43.  And  the  arrows  and  stones 
struck  Dan  and  Judah,  and  they  had 
nearly  been  killed  upon  the  wall,  and 
wherever  Dan  and  Judah  fled  upon 
the  wall,  they  were  attacked  with 
arrows  and  stones  from  the  second 
wall. 

44.  And  Jacob  and  his  sons  were 
still  at  the  entrance  of  the  city  below 
the  first  wall,  and  they  were  not  able 
to  draw  their  bow  against  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  city,  as  they  could  not  be 
seen  by  them,  being  upon  the  second 
wall. 

45.  And  Dan  and  Judah  when  they 
could  no  longer  bear  the  stones  and 
arrows  that  fell  upon  them  from  the 


120 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


second  wall,  they  both  sprang  upon 
the  second  wall  near  the  people  of 
the  city,  and  when  the  people  of  the 
city  who  were  upon  the  second  wall 
saw  that  Dan  and  Judah  had  come 
to  them  upon  the  second  wall,  they 
all  cried  out  and  descended  below  be- 
tween the  walls. 

46.  And  Jacob  and  his  sons  heard 
the  noise  of  the  shouting  from  the 
people  of  the  city,  and  they  were 
still  at  the  entrance  of  the  city,  and 
they  were  anxious  about  Dan  and  Ju- 
dah who  were  not  seen  by  them,  they 
being  upon  the  second  wall. 

47.  And  Naphtali  went  up  with 
his  wrath  excited  might  and  sprang 
upon  the  first  wall  to  see  what  caus- 
ed the  noise  of  shouting  which  they 
had  heard  in  the  city,  and  Issachar 
and  Zebulun  drew  nigh  to  break  the 
doors  of  the  city,  and  they  opened 
the  gates  of  the  city  and  came  into 
the  city. 

48.  And  Naphtali  leaped  from  the 
first  wall  to  the  second,  and  came  to 
assist  his  brothers,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  Gaash  who  were  upon  the  wall, 
seeing  that  Naphtali  was  the  third 
who  had  come  up  to  assist  his  brothers, 
they  all  fled  and  descended  into  the 
city,  and  Jacob  and  his  sons  and  all 
their  young  men  came  into  the  city 
to  them. 

49.  And  Judah  and  Dan  and  Naph- 
tali descended  from  the  wall  into  the 
city  and  pursued  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city,  and  Simeon  and  Jjcvi  were  from 
without  the  city  and  knew  not  that 
the  gate  was  opened,  and  they  went 
up  from  there  to  the  wall  and  came 
down  to  their  brothers  into  the  city. 

50.  And  the  inhabitants  of  the  city 
had  all  descended  into  the  city,  and 
the  sons  of  Jacob  came  to  them  in 
different  directions  and  the  battle 
waged  against  them  from  the  front 


and  the  rear,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob 
smote  them  terribly  and  slew  about 
twenty  thousand  of  them  men  and 
women,  not  one  of  them  could  stand 
up  against  the  sons  of  Jacob. 

51.  And  the  blood  ^owec^  plenti- 
fully in  the  city,  and  it  was  like  a 
brook  of  water,  and  the  blood  flowed 
like  a  brook  to  the  outer  part  of  the 
city,  and  reached  the  desert  of  Beth- 
chorin. 

52.  And  the  people  of  Bethcho- 
rin  saw  at  a  distance  the  blood  flow- 
ing from  the  city  of  Gaash,  and  about 
seventy  men  from  amongst  them 
ran  to  see  the  blood,  and  they  came 
to  the  place  where  the  blood  was. 

53.  And  they  followed  the  track 
of  the  blood  and  came  to  the  wall  of 
the  city  of  Gaash,  and  they  saw  the 
blood  issue  from  the  city,  and  they 
heard  the  voice  of  crying  from  the 
inhabitants  of  Gaash,  for  it  ascended 
unto  heaven,  and  the  blood  was  con- 
tinuing to  flow  abundantly  like  a 
brook  of  water. 

54.  And  all  the  sons  of  Jacob 
were  still  smiting  the  inhabitants  of 
Gaash,  and  xoere  engaged  in  slaying 
them  till  evening,  about  twenty  thou- 
sand men  and  women,  and  the  people 
of  Chorin  said,  surely  this  is  the 
work  of  the  Hebrews,  for  they  are 
still  carrying  on  war  in  all  the  cities 
of  the  Amorites. 

55.  And  those  people  hastened 
and  ran  to  Bethchorin,  and  each  took 
his  weapons  of  war,  and  they  cried 
out  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  Beth- 
chorin, who  also  girt  on  their  wea- 
pons of  war  to  go  and  fight  with  the 
sons  of  Jacob. 

56.  And  when  the  sons  of  Jacob 
had  done  smiting  the  inhabitants  of 
Gaash,  they  walked  about  the  city  to 
strip  all  the  slain,  and  coming  in  the 
innermost  part  of  the  city  and  farther 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


131 


on  they  met  three  very  powerful  men, 
and  tlierc  was  no  sword  in  their 
hand. 

57.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  came 
up  to  the  place  where  they  xoere,  and 
the  powerful  men  ran  away,  and  one 
of  them  had  taken  Zebulun,  who  he 
saw  was  a  young  lad  and  of  short 
stature,  and  with  his  might  dashed 
him  to  the  ground. 

58.  And  Jacob  ran  to  him  with  his 
sword  and  Jacob  smote  him  below 
his  loins  with  the  sword,  and  cut  him 
in  two,  and  the  body  fell  upon  Zebu- 
lun. 

59.  And  the  second  one  approach- 
ed and  seized  Jacob  to  fell  him  to 
the  ground,  and  Jacob  turned  to  him 
and  shouted  to  him,  whilst  Simeon 
and  Levi  ran  and  smote  him  on  the 
hips  with  the  sword  and  felled  him 
to  the  ground. 

60.  And  the  powerful  man  rose 
up  from  the  ground  witli  wrath-ex- 
cited might,  and  Judah  came  to  him 
before  he  had  gained  his  footing, 
and  struck  him  upon  the  head  with 
the  sword,  and  his  head  was  split 
and  he  died. 

61.  And  the  third  powerful  man, 
seeing  that  his  companions  were 
killed,  ran  from  before  the  sons  of 
Jacob,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob  pursued 
him  in  the  city ;  and  whilst  the 
powerful  man  was  fleeing  he  found 
one  of  the  swords  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  city,  and  he  picked  it  up  and 
turned  to  the  sons  of  Jacob  and 
fought  them  with  that  sword. 

62.  And  the  powerful  man  ran  to 
Judah  to  strike  him  upon  the  head 
with  the  sword,  and  there  was  no 
shield  in  the  hand  of  Judah;  and 
whilst  he  loas  aiming  to  strike  him, 
Naphtali  hastily  took  his  shield  and 
put  it  to  Judah's  head,  and  the 
sword  of  the  powerful  man  hit  the 


shield  of  Naphtali  and  Judah  escap- 
ed the  sword. 

63.  And  Simeon  and  Levi  ran  up- 
on the  powerful  man  with  their 
swords  and  struck  at  him  forcibly 
with  iheir  swords,  and  the  two 
swords  entered  the  body  of  the  pow- 
erful man  and  divided  it  in  two, 
length- wise. 

64.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  smote 
the  three  miglity  men  at  that  time, 
together  willi  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Gaash,  and  the  day  was  about  to  de- 
cline. 

65.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  walk- 
ed about  Gaash  and  took  all  the 
spoil  of  the  city,  even  the  little  ones 
and  women  they  did  not  suff'cr  to 
live,  and  the  sons  of  Jacol)  did  unto 
Gaash  as  they  had  done  to  Sarton 
and  Shiloh. 

CHAPTER  XL. 

1 .  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  led  away 
all  the  spoil  of  (iaash,  and  went  out 
of  the  city  by  night. 

2.  They  were  going  out  marching 
toward  the  castle  of  Bethchorin,  and 
the  inhabitants  of  Bethchorin  were 
going  to  the  castle  to  meet  them,  and 
on  that  night  the  sons  of  Jacob 
fought  with  the  inhabitants  of  Beth- 
chorin, in  the  castle  of  Bethchorin. 

3.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of  Beth- 
chorin were  mighty  men,  one  of  them 
would  not  flee  from  before  a  thou- 
sand men,  and  they  fought  on  that 
night  upon  the  castle,  and  their 
shouts  were  heard  on  that  night  from 
afar,  and  the  earth  quaked  at  their 
shouting. 

4.  And  all  the  sons  of  Jacob  were 
afraid  of  those  men,  as  they  were 
not  accustomed  to  fight  in  llie  dark, 
and  they  were  greatly  confounded, 
and  the  sons  of  Jacob  cried  unto  the 


122 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


Lord,  saying,  give  help  lo  us  0  Lord, 
deliver  us  that  we  may  not  die  by 
the  hands  of  these  uncircumcised 
men. 

5.  And  the  Lord  hearkened  to  the 
voice  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  and  the 
Lord  caused  great  terror  and  confu- 
sion to  seize  the  people  of  Beth- 
chorin,  and  they  fought  amongst 
themselves  the  one  with  the  other  in 
the  darkness  of  night,  and  smote 
each  other  in  great  numbers. 

6.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob,  know- 
ing that  the  Lord  had  brought  a  spirit 
of  perverseness  amongst  those  men, 
and  that  they  fought  each  man  with 
his  neighbor,  went  forth  from  among 
the  bands  of  the  people  of  Betlicho- 
rin  and  went  as  far  as  the  descent  of 
the  castle  of  Bethchorin,  and  farther, 
and  they  tarried  there  securely  with 
their  young  men  on  that  night.    . 

7.  And  the  people  of  Bethchorin 
fought  the  whole  night,  one  man 
with  his  brother,  and  the  other  with 
his  neighbor,  and  they  cried  out  in 
every  direction  upon  the  castle,  and 
their  cry  was  heard  at  a  distance, 
and  the  whole  earth  shook  at  their 
voice,  for  they  were  powerful  above 
all  the  people  of  the  earth. 

8.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
cities  of  the  Canaanites,  the  Hittites, 
the  Amorites,  the  Hivites  and  all  the 
kings  of  Canaan,  and  also  those  who 
were  on  the  other  side  of  the  Jordan, 
heard  the  noise  of  the  shouting  on 
that  night. 

9.  And  they  said,  surely  these  are 
the  battles  of  the  Hebrews  who  are 
fighting  against  the  seven  cities ; 
who  came  nigh  unto  them,  and  who 
can  stand  against  those  Hebrews? 

10.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
cities  of  the  Canaanites,  and  all  those 
who  were  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Jordan,  were   greatly  afraid  of  the 


sons  of  Jacob,  for  they  said,  behold 
the  same  will  be  done  to  us  as  was 
done  to  those  cities,  for  who  can 
stand  against  their  mighty  strength  ? 

11.  And  the  cries  of  the  Chori- 
niles  were  very  great  on  that  night, 
and  continued  to  increase,  and  they 
smote  each  other  till  morning,  and 
numbers  of  them  were  killed. 

12.  And  the  morning  appeared, 
and  all  the  sons  of  Jacob  rose  up  at 
day  break  and  went  up  to  the  castle, 
and  they  smote  those  who  remained 
of  the  Chorinites  in  a  terrible  man- 
ner, and  they  were  all  killed  in  the 
castle. 

13.  And  the  sixth  day  appeared, 
and  all  the  inhabitants  of  Canaan 
saw  at  a  distance  all  the  people  of 
Bethchorin  lying  dead  in  the  castle 
of  Bethchorin,  and  strewed  aboiU  as 
the  carcasses  of  lambs  and  goats. 

14.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  led  all 
the  spoil  which  they  had  captured 
from  Gaash  and  went  to  Bethchorin, 
and  they  found  the  city  full  of  peo- 
ple like  the  sand  of  the  sea,  and  they 
fought  with  them,  and  the  sons  of 
Jacob  smote  them  there  till  evening 
time. 

15.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  did  un- 
to Bethchorin  as  they  had  done  to 
Gaash  and  Tapnach,  and  as  they 
had  done  to  Chazar,  to  Sarton  and 
to  Shiloh. 

16.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  took 
with  them  the  spoil  of  Bethchorin 
and  all  the  spoil  of  the  cities,  and  on 
that  day  they  went  home  to  She- 
chem. 

17.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  came 
home  to  the  city  of  Shechem,  and 
they  rem.ained  without  the  city,  and 
they  then  rested  there  from  the  war, 
and  tarried  there  all  night. 

18.  And  all  their  servants  together 
with  all  the  spoil  that  they  had  taken 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


123 


from  the  cities,  they  left  without  the 
city,  and  they  did  not  enter  the  city, 
for  they  said,  peradvcnture  there  may 
be  yet  more  hghting  against  us,  and 
they  may  come  to  besiege  us  in  She- 
chem. 

19.  And  Jacob  and  his  sons  and 
their  servants  remained  on  that  and 
the  next  day  in  tlie  portion  of  llie 
field  which  Jacob  had  purchased  from 
Hamor  for  five  shekels,  and  all  that 
ihey  had  captured  was  with  them. 

20.  And  all  the  booty  which  the 
sons  of  Jacob  had  captured,  was  in 
the  portion  of  the  field,  immense  as 
the  sand  upon  the  sea  shore. 

21.  And  the  iniiabitants  of  the  land 
observed  them  from  afar,  and  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  land  were  afraid  of 
the  sons  of  Jacob  who  had  done  this 
thing,  for  no  king  from  the  days  of 
old  had  ever  done  the  like. 

22.  And  the  seven  kings  of  the 
Canaanites  resolved  to  make  peace 
with  the  sons  of  Jacob,  for  they  were 
greatly  afraid  of  their  lives,  on  ac- 
count of  the  sons  of  Jacob. 

23.  And  on  that  day,  being  the 
seventh  day,  Japhia  king  of  Hebron 
sent  secretly  to  the  king  of  Ai,  and  to 
the  king  of  Gibeon,  and  to  the  king 
of  Shalem,  aud  to  the  king  of  Adu- 
1am,  and  to  the  king  of  Lachish,  and 
to  the  king  of  Chazar,  and  to  all  the 
Canaanitish  kings  who  were  under 
their  subjection,  saying, 

24.  Go  up  with  me,  and  come  to 
me  that  we  may  go  to  the  sons  of 
Jacob,  and  I  will  make  peace  with 
them,  and  form  a  treaty  loith  them, 
lest  all  your  lands  be  destroyed  by 
the  swords  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  as 
they  did  to  Shechem  and  the  cities 
around  it,  as  you  have  heard  and 
seen. 

25.  And  when  you  come  to  me, 
do  not  come  with  many  men,  but  let 


every  king  bring  his  three  head  cap- 
tains, and  every  captam  bring  three 
of  his  officers. 

26.  And  come  all  of  you  to  He- 
bron, and  we  will  go  together  to  the 
sons  of  Jacob,  and  supplicate  them 
that  they  shall  form  a  treaty  of  peace 
with  us. 

27.  And  all  those  kings  did  as  the 
king  of  Hebron  had  sent  to  them,  for 
they  were  all  under  his  counsel  and 
command,  and  all  the  kings  of  Ca- 
naan assembled  to  go  to  the  sons  of 
Jacob,  to  make  peace  with  them  ; 
and  the  sons  of  Jacob  returned  and 
went  to  the  portion  of  the  field  that 
was  in  Shechem,  for  they  did  not  })ut 
confidence  in  the  kings  of  the  land. 

28.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  returned 
and  remained  in  the  portion  of  the 
field  ten  days,  and  no  one  came  to 
make  war  with  them. 

29.  And  when  the  sons  of  Jacob 
saw  that  there  was  no  appearance  of 
war,  they  all  assembled  and  went  to 
the  city  of  Shechem,  and  the  sons  of 
Jacob  remained  in  Shechem. 

30.  And  at  the  expiration  of  forty 
days,  all  the  kings  of  the  Amorites 
assembled  from  all  their  places  and 
came  to  Hebron,  to  Japhia,  king  of 
Hebron. 

3 1 .  And  the  number  of  kings  that 
came  to  Hebron,  to  make  peace  with 
the  sons  of  Jacob,  was  twenty-one 
kings,  and  the  number  of  captains 
that  came  with  them  was  sixty-nine, 
and  their  men  were  one  hundred  and 
eighty-nine,  and  all  these  kings  and 
their  men  rested  by  mount  Hebron. 

32.  And  the  king  of  Hebron  went 
out  with  his  three  captains  and  nine 
men,  and  these  kings  resolved  to  go 
to  the  sons  of  Jacob  to  make  peace. 

33.  And  they  said  unto  the  king 
of  Hebron,  go  thou  before  us  with 
thy  men,  and  speak  for  us  unto  the 


124 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


sons  of  Jacob,  and  we  will  come  af- 
ter thee  and  confirm  thy  words,  and 
the  king  of  Hebron  did  so. 

34.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  heard 
that  all  the  kings  of  Canaan  had  ga- 
thered together  and  rested  in  Hebron, 
and  the  sons  of  Jacob  sent  four  of 
their  servants  as  spies,  saying,  go 
and  spy  these  kings,  and  search  and 
examine  their  men  whether  they  are 
few  or  many,  and  if  they  are  but  few 
in  number,  number  them  all  and 
come  back. 

35.  And  the  servants  of  Jacob 
went  secretly  to  these  kings,  and  did 
as  the  sons  of  Jacob  had  commanded 
them,  and  on  that  day  they  came 
back  to  the  sons  of  Jacob,  and  said 
unto  them,  we  came  unto  those  kings, 
and  they  are  but  few  in  number,  and 
we  numbered  them  all,  and  behold, 
they  were  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
eight,  kings  and  men. 

36.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  said, 
they  are  but  few  in  number,  there- 
fore we  will  not  all  go  out  to  them  ; 
and  in  the  morning  the  sons  of  Jacob 
rose  up  and  chose  sixty-two  of  their 
men,  and  ten  of  the  sons  of  Jacob 
went  with  them ;  and  they  girt  on 
their  weapons  of  war,  for  they  said, 
they  are  coming  to  make  war  with 
us,  for  they  knew  not  that  they  were 
coming  to  make  peace  with  them. 

37.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  went 
■with  their  servants  to  the  gate  of  She- 
chem,  toward  those  kings,  and  their 
father  Jacob  was  with  them. 

38.  And  when  they  had  come  forth, 
behold,  the  king  of  Hebron  and  his 
three  captains  and  nine  men  with 
him  were  coming  along  the  road 
against  the  sons  of  Jacob,  and  the 
sons  of  Jacob  lifted  up  their  eyes, 
and  saw  at  a  distance  Jophia,  king 
of  Hebron,  with  his  captains,  coming 
toward  them,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob 


took  their  stand  at  the  place  of  the 
gate  of  Shechem,  and  did  not  pro- 
ceed. 

39.  And  the  king  of  Hebron  con- 
tinued to  advance,  he  and  his  cap- 
tains, until  he  came  nigh  to  the  sons 
of  Jacob,  and  he  and  his  captains 
bowed  down  to  them  to  the  ground, 
and  the  king  of  Hebron  sat  with  his 
captains  before  Jacob  and  his  sons. 

40.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  said 
imto  him,  what  has  befallen  thee,  O 
king  of  Hebron  ?  why  hast  thou  come 
to  us  this  day?  what  dost  thou  re- 
quire from  us  ?  and  the  king  of  He- 
bron said  unto  Jacob,  I  beseech  thee 
my  lord,  all  the  kings  of  the  Canaan- 
ites  have  this  day  come  to  make 
peace  with  you. 

41.  And  "the  sons  of  Jacob  heard 
the  words  of  the  king  of  Hebron, 
and  they  would  not  consent  to  his 
proposals,  for  the  sons  of  Jacob  had 
no  faith  in  him,  for  they  imagined 
that  the  king  of  Hebron  had  spoken 
deceitfully  to  them. 

42.  And  the  king  of  Hebron  knew 
from  the  words  of  the  sons  of  Jacob, 
that  they  did  not  believe  his  words, 
and  the  king  of  Hebron  approached 
nearer  to  Jacob,  and  said  unto  him, 
I  beseech  thee  my  lord  to  be  assured 
that  all  these  kings  have  come  to  you 
on  peaceable  terms,  for  they  have 
not  come  with  all  their  men,  neither 
did  they  bring  their  weapons  of  war 
with  them,  for  they  have  come  to 
seek  peace  from  my  lord  and  his 
sons. 

43.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  answer- 
ed the  king  of  Hebron,  saying,  send 
thou  to  all  these  kings,  and  if  thou 
speakest  truth  unto  us,  let  them  each 
come  singly  before  us,  and  if  they 
come  unto  us  unarmed,  we  shall  then 
know  that  they  seek  peace  from  us. 

44.  And  Japhia,  king  of  Hebron, 


THE  BOOK  OF  JA.SHER. 


125 


sent  one  of  his  men  to  the  kings,  and 
they  all  came  before  the  sons  of  Ja- 
cob, and  bowed  down  to  them  to  the 
ground,  and  these  kings  sat  before 
Jacob  and  his  sons,  and  they  spoke 
mito  them,  saying, 

45.  We  have  heard  all  that  you 
did  unto  the  kings  of  the  Amorites 
with  your  sword  and  exceedingly 
mighty  arm,  so  that  no  man  could 
stand  up  before  you,  and  we  were 
afraid  of  you  for  the  sake  of  our  lives, 
lost  it  should  befall  us  as  it  did  to  them. 

46.  So  we  have  come  unto  you  to 
form  a  treaty  of  peace  between  us, 
and  now  therefore  contract  with  us 
a  covenant  of  peace  and  truth,  that 
you  will  not  meddle  with  us,  inas- 
much as  we  have  not  meddled  with 
you. 

47.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  knew 
that  they  had  really  come  to  seek 
peace  from  them,  and  the  sons  of  Ja- 
cob listened  to  them,  and  formed  a 
covenant  witii  them. 

48.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  swore 
unto  them  that  they  would  not  med- 
dle with  them,  and  all  the  kings  of 
the  Canaanites  swore  also  to  them, 
and  the  sons  of  Jacob  made  them 
tributary  from  that  day  forward. 

49.  And  after  this  all  the  captains 
of  these  kings  came  with  their  men 
before  Jacob,  with  presents  in  their 
hands  for  Jacob  and  his  sons,  and 
they  bowed  down  to  him  to  the  ground. 

50.  And  these  kings  then  urged 
the  sons  of  Jacob  and  begged  of  them 
to  return  all  that  spoil  they  had  cap- 
tured from  the  seven  cities  of  the 
Amorites,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob  did 
so,  and  they  returned  all  that  they 
had  captured,  the  women,  the  little 
ones,  the  cattle  and  all  the  spoil 
•which  they  had  taken,  and  they  sent 
them  off,  and  they  went  away  each 
to  his  city. 


51.  And  all  these  kings  again 
bowed  down  to  the  sons  of  Jacob,  and 
they  sent  or  brought  them  many  gifts 
in  those  days,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob 
sent  off  these  kings  and  their  men, 
and  they  went  peaceably  away  from 
them  to  their  cities,  and  the  sons  of 
Jacob  also  returned  to  their  home,  to 
Shechem. 

52.  And  there  was  peace  from 
that  day  forward  between  the  sons 
of  Jacob  and  the  kings  of  the 
Canaanites,  until  the  children  of 
Israel  came  to  inherit  the  land  of 
Canaan. 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

1.  And  at  the  revolution  of  the 
year  the  sons  of  Jacob  journeyed 
from  Shechem,  and  they  came  to 
Hebron,  to  their  father  Isaac,  and 
they  dwelt  there,  but  their  flocks  and 
herds  they  fed  daily  in  Shechem, 
for  there  was  there  in  those  days 
good  and  fat  pasture,  and  Jacob  and 
his  sons  and  all  their  household 
dwelt  in  the  valley  of  Hebron. 

2.  And  it  was  in  those  days,  in 
that  year,  being  the  hundred  and 
sixth  year  of  the  life  of  Jacob,  in  the 
tenth  year  of  Jacob's  coming  from 
Padan-aram,  that  Leah  the  wife  of 
Jacob  died  ;  she  was  fifty  one  years 
old  when  she  died  in  Hebron. 

3.  And  Jacob  and  his  sons  buried 
her  in  the  cave  of  the  field  of  Mach- 
pelah,  which  is  in  Hebron,  which 
Abraham  had  bought  from  the  child- 
ren of  Heth,  for  the  possession  of  a 
burial  place. 

4.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  dwelt 
with  their  father  in  the  valley  of  He- 
bron, and  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land  knew  their  strength,  and  their 
fame  went  throughout  the  land. 

5.  And  Joseph  the  son  of  Jacob, 


126 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


and  his  brother  Benjamin,  the  sons  of 
Rachel  the  wife  of  Jacob,  were  yet 
young  in  those  days,  and  did  not  go 
out  with  their  brethren  during  their 
battles  in  all  the  cities  of  the  Am- 
orites. 

6.  And  when  Joseph  saw  the 
strength  of  his  brethren,  and  their 
greatness,  he  praised  them  and  ex- 
tolled them,  but  he  ranked  himself 
greater  than  them,  and  extolled  him- 
self above  them ;  and  Jacob,  his 
father,  also  loved  him  more  than  any 
of  his  sons,  for  he  was  a  son  of  his 
old  age,  and  through  his  love  toward 
him,  he  made  him  a  coat  of  many 
colors, 

7.  And  when  Joseph  saw  that  his 
father  loved  him  more  than  his  breth- 
ren, he  continued  to  exalt  himself 
above  his  brethren,  and  he  brought 
unto  his  father  evil  reports  concern- 
ing them. 

8.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  seeing 
the  whole  of  Joseph's  conduct  toward 
them,  and  that  their  father  loved  him 
more  than  any  of  them,  they  hated 
him  and  could  not  speak  peaceably 
to  him  all  the  days. 

9.  And  Joseph  was  seventeen 
years  old,  and  he  was  still  magnify- 
ing himself  above  his  brethren,  and 
thoughtof  raising  himself  above  them. 

10.  At  that  time  he  dreamed  a 
dream,  and  he  came  unto  his  brothers 
and  told  them  his  dream,  and  he  said 
unto  them,  I  dreamed  a  dream,  and 
behold  we  were  all  binding  sheaves 
in  the  field,  and  my  sheaf  rose  and 
placed  itself  upon  the  ground  and 
your  sheaves  surrounded  it  and  bowed 
down  to  it. 

11.  And  his  brethren  answered 
him  and  said  unto  him,  what  mean- 
eth  this  dream  that  thou  didst  dream  ? 
dost  thou  imagine  in  thy  heart  to 
reign  or  rule  over  us  ? 


12.  And  he  still  came,  and  told 
the  thing  to  his  father  Jacob,  and 
Jacob  kissed  Joseph  when  he  heard 
these  words  from  his  mouth,  and 
Jacob  blessed  Joseph. 

13.  And  when  the  sons  of  Jacob 
saw  that  their  father  had  blessed 
Joseph  and  had  kissed  him,  and  that 
he  loved  him  exceedingly,  they  be- 
came jealous  of  him  and  hated  him 
the  more. 

14.  And  after  this  Joseph  dreamed 
another  dream  and  related  the  dream 
to  his  father  in  the  presence  of  his 
brethren,  and  Joseph  said  unto  his 
father  and  brethren,  behold  I  have 
again  dreamed  a  dream,  and  behold 
the  sun  and  the  moon  and  the  eleven 
stars  bowed  down  to  me. 

15.  And  his  father  heard  the 
words  of  Joseph  and  his  dream,  and 
seeing  that  his  brethren  hated  Joseph 
on  account  of  this  matter,  Jacob 
therefore  rebuked  Joseph  before  his 
brethren  on  account  of  this  thing, 
saying,  what  meaneth  this  dream 
which  thou  hast  dreamed,  and  this 
magnifying  thyself  before  thy  breth- 
ren who  are  older  than  thou  art  ? 

16.  Dost  thou  imagine  in  thy 
heart  that  I  and  thy  mother  and  thy 
eleven  brethren  will  come  and  bow 
down  to  thee,  that  thou  speakest 
these  things? 

17.  And  his  brethren  were  jealous 
of  him  on  account  of  his  words  and 
dreams,  and  they  continued  to  hate 
him,  and  Jacob  reserved  the  dreams 
in  his  heart. 

18.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  went 
one  day  to  feed  their  father's  flock  in 
Shechem,  for  they  were  still*  herds- 
men in  those  days  ;  and  whilst  the 
sons  of  Jacob  were  that  day  feeding 

*  He  repeats  this  to  contrast  their  pastoral 
employment  now,  with  the  battles  which  thej 
had  just  been  engaged  in. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


127 


in  Shechem  they  delayed,  and  the 
time  of  gathering  in  the  cattle  was 
passed,  and  they  had  not  arrived. 

19.  And  Jacob  saw  that  his  sons 
were  delayed  in  Shechem,  and  Ja- 
cob said  within  himself,  peradven- 
ture  the  people  of  Shechem  iiave 
risen  up  to  tight  against  them,  there- 
fore they  have  delayed  coming  this 
day. 

20.  A.nd  Jacob  called  Joseph  his 
son,  and  commanded  him,  saying,  be- 
hold thy  brethren  are  feeding  in  She- 
chem this  day,  and  behold  tiiey  have 
not  yet  come  back  ;  go  now  there- 
fore and  see  where  they  are,  and  bring 
me  word  back  concerning  the  wel- 
fare of  thy  brethren  and  the  welfare 
of  the  flock. 

21 .  And  Jacob  sent  his  son  Joseph 
to  the  valley  of  Hebron,  and  Joseph 
came  for  his  brothers  to  Shechem, 
and  could  not  find  them,  and  Joseph 
went  about  the  field  which  was  near 
Shechem,  to  see  where  his  brothers 
had  turned,  and  he  missed  his  road 
in  the  wilderness,  and  knew  not 
which  way  he  should  go. 

22.  And  an  angel  of  the  Lord 
found  him  wandering  in  the  road  to- 
ward the  field,  and  Joseph  said  unto, 
the  angel  of  the  Lord,  I  seek  my 
brethren  ;  hast  thou  not  heard  where 
they  are  feeding  ?  and  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  said  unto  Joseph,  I  saw  thy 
brethren  feeding  here,  and  I  heard 
them  say  they  would  go  to  feed  in 
Dothan. 

23.  And  Joseph  hearkened  to  the 
voice  of  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  and 
he  went  to  his  brethren  in  Dothan 
and  he  found  them  in  Dothan  feeding 
the  flock. 

24.  And  Joseph  advanced  to  his 
brethren,  and  before  he  had  come 
nigh  unto  them,  they  had  resolved  to 
slay  him. 


25.  And  Simeon  said  to  his  breth 
ren,  behold  the  man  of  dreams  is 
coming  unto  us  this  day,  and  now 
therefore  come  and  let  us  kill  him 
and  cast  him  in  one  of  the  pits  that 
are  in  the  wilderness,  and  when  his 
father  shall  seek  him  from  us,  we  will 
say  an  evil  beast  has  devoured  him. 

26.  And  Reuben  heard  the  words 
of  his  brethren  concerning  Joseph, 
and  he  said  unto  them,  you  should 
not  do  this  thing,  for  how  can  we  look 
up  to  our  father  Jacob  ?  Cast  him 
into  this  pit  to  die  there,  but  stretch 
not  forth  a  hand  upon  him  to  spill 
his  blood  ;  and  Reuben  said  this,  in 
order  to  deliver  him  from  their  hand, 
to  bring  him  back  to  his  father. 

27.  And  when  Joseph  came  to  his 
brethren  he  sat  before  them,  and  they 
rose  upon  him  and  seized  him  and 
smote  him  to  the  earth,  and  stripped 
the  coat  of  many  colors  which  he  had 
on. 

28.  And  they  took  him  and  cast 
him  into  a  pit,  and  in  the  pit  there 
was  no  water,  but  serpents  and  scor- 
pions. And  Joseph  was  afraid  of 
the  serpents  and  scorpions  that  were 
in  the  pit.  And  Joseph  cried  out  with  a 
loud  voice,  and  the  Lord  hid  the  ser- 
pents and  scorpions  in  the  sides  of 
the  pit,  and  they  did  no  harm  unto 
Joseph. 

29.  And  Joseph  called  out  from 
the  pit  to  his  brethren  and  said  unto 
them,  what  have  I  done  unto  you, 
and  in  what  have  I  sinned  ?  why  do 
you  not  fear  the  Lord  concerning 
me  ?  am  I  not  of  your  bones  and 
flesh,  and  is  not  Jacob  your  father, 
my  father  ?  why  do  you  do  this  thing 
unto  me  this  day,  and  how  will  you 
be  able  to  look  up  to  our  father  Jacob  ? 

30.  And  he  continued  to  cry  out 
and  call  unto  his  brethren  from  the 
pit,  and  he  said,  O   Judah,   Simeon 


128 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


and  Levi  my  brethren,  lift  me  up 
from  the  place  of  darkness  in  which 
you  have  placed  me,  and  come  this 
day  to  have  compassion  on  me,  ye 
children  of  the  Lord,  and  sons  of  Ja- 
cob my  father.  And  if  I  have  sin- 
ned unto  you,  are  you  not  the  sons 
of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  ?  if 
they  saw  an  orphan  they  had  com- 
passion over  him,  or  one  that  was 
hungry  they  gave  him  bread  to  eat, 
or  one  that  was  thirsty  they  gave  him 
water  to  drink,  or  one  that  was  naked 
they  covered  him  with  garments  ! 

31.  And  how  then  will  you  with- 
hold your  pity  from  your  brother,  for 
I  am  of  your  flesh  and  bones,  and  if 
I  have  sinned  unto  you,  surely  you 
will  do  this  on  account  of  my  father! 

32.  And  Joseph  spoke  these  words 
from  the  pit,  and  his  brethren  would 
not  listen  to  him,  nor  incline  ears  to 
the  words  of  Joseph,  and  Joseph 
was  crying  and  weeping  in  the  pit. 

33.  And  Joseph  said,  O  that  my 
father  knew,  this  day,  the  act  which 
my  brothers  have  done  unto  me,  and 
the  words  which  they  have  this  day 
spoken  unto  me. 

34.  And  all  his  brethren  heard  his 
cries  and  weeping  in  the  pit,  and  his 
brethren  went  and  removed  them- 
selves from  the  pit,  so  that  they  might 
not  hear  the  cries  of  Joseph  and  his 
weeping  in  the  pit. 

CHAPTER  XLIL 

1 .  And  they  went  and  sat  on  the 
opposite  side,  about  the  distance  of 
a  bow-shot,  and  they  sat  there  to  eat 
bread,  and  whilst  they  were  eating, 
they  held  counsel  together  what 
was  to  be  done  with  him,  whether 
to  slay  him  or  to  bring  him  back  to 
his  father. 

2.  They  were  holding  the  coun- 


sel, when  they  lifted  up  their  eyes, 
and  saw,  and  behold  there  was  a 
company  of  Ishmaelites  coming  at  a 
distance  by  the  road  of  Gilead,  going 
down  to  Egypt. 

3.  And  Judah  said  unto  them, 
what  gain  will  it  be  to  us  if  we  slay 
our  brother  ?  peradventure  God  will 
require  him  from  us  ;  this  then  is  the 
counsel  proposed  concerning  him, 
which  you  shall  do  unto  him  ;  be- 
hold this  company  of  Ishmaelites  go- 
ing down  to  Egvpt. 

4.  Now  therefore,  come  let  us  dis- 
pose of  him  to  them,  and  let  not  our 
hand  be  upon  him,  and  they  will  lead 
him  along  with  them,  and  he  will  be 
lost  amongst  the  people  of  the  land, 
and  we  will  not  put  him  to  death 
with  our  own  hands.  And  the  pro- 
posal pleased  his  brethren  and  they 
did  according  to  the  word  of  Judah. 

5.  And  whilst  they  were  discours- 
ing about  this  matter,  and  before  the 
company  of  Ishmaelites  had  come 
up  to  them,  seven  trading  men  of 
Midian  passed  by  them,  and  as  they 
passed  they  were  thirsty,  and  they 
lifted  up  their  eyes  and  saw  the  pit 
in  which  Joseph  was  immured,  and 
they  looked,  and  behold  every 
species  of  bird  was  upon  him. 

6.  And  these  Midianites  ran  to  the 
pit  to  drink  water,  for  they  thought 
that  it  contained  water,  and  on  com- 
ing before  the  pit  they  heard  the 
voice  of  Joseph  crying  and  weeping 
in  the  pit,  and  thev  looked  down  in- 
to the  pit,  and  they  saw  and  behold 
there  was  a  youth  of  comely  appear- 
ance and  well  favored. 

7.  And  they  called  unto  him  and 
said,  who  art  thou  and  who_brought 
thee  hither,  and  who  placed  thee  in 
this  pit,  in  the  wilderness?'  and  they 
all  assisted  to  raise  up  Joseph  and 
they  drew  him  out,  and  brought  him 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


129 


up  from  the  pit,  and  took  him  and 
Went  away  on  their  journey  and 
passed  by  his  brethren. 

8.  And  these  said  unto  them,  why 
do  you  do  this,  to  take  our  servant 
from  us  and  to  go  away  ?  surely  we 
placed  this  youth  in  the  pit  because 
he  rebelled  against  us,  and  you  come 
and  bring  him  up  and  lead  him  away; 
now  then  give  us  back  our  servant. 

9.  And  the  Midianites  answered 
and  said  unto  the  sons  of  Jacob,  is 
this  your  servant,  or  does  this  man 
attend  you  ?  peradventure  you  are  all 
his  servants,  for  he  is  more  comely 
and  well  favored  than  any  of  you, 
and  why  do  you  all  speak  falsely  un- 
to us? 

10.  Now  therefore  we  will  not  lis- 
ten to  your  words,  nor  attend  to  you, 
for  we  found  the  youth  in  the  pit  in 
the  wilderness,  and  we  took  him  ; 
we  will  tliere.Jore  go  on. 

11.  And  all  the  sons  of  Jacob  ap- 
proached them  and  rose  up  to  them 
and  said  unto  them,  give  us  back 
our  servant,  and  why  will  you  all 
die  by  the  edge  of  the  sword  ?  And 
the  Midianites  cried  out  against 
them,  and  they  drew  their  swords, 
and  approached  to  fight  with  the  sons 
of  Jacob. 

12.  And  behold  Simeon  rose  up 
from  his  seat  against  them,  and 
sprang  upon  the  ground  and  drew 
his  sword  and  approached  the  Midi- 
anites and  he  gave  a  terrible  shout 
before  them,  so  that  his  shouting 
was  heard  at  a  distance,  and  the 
earth  shook  at  Simeon's  shouting. 

13.  And  the  Midianites  were  ter- 
rified on  account  of  Simeon  and  the 
noise  of  his  shouting,  and  they  fell 
upon  their  faces,  and  were  excessive- 
ly alarmed. 

14.  And  Simeon  said  unto  them, 
verily  I  am  Simeon  the  son  of  Ja- 

9 


cob  the  Hebrew,  who  have,  only 
with  my  brother,  destroyed  the  city 
of  Shechem  and  the  cities  of  the 
Amorites ;  so  shall  God  moreover 
do  unto  me,  that  if  all  your  brethren 
the  people  of  Midian,  and  also  the 
kings  of  Canaan,  were  to  come  with 
you,  they  could  not  fight  against 
me, 

15.  Now  therefore  give  us  back 
the  yoiuh  whom  you  have  taken,  lest 
I  give  your  flesh  to  the  birds  of  the 
skies  and  the  beasts  of  the  earth, 

16.  And  the  Midianites  were  more 
afraid  of  Simeon,  and  they  approach- 
ed the  sons  of  Jacob  with  terror  and 
fright,  and  with  pathetic  words,  say- 
ing. 

17.  Surely  you  have  said  that  the 
young  man  is  your  servant,  and  that 
he  rebelled  against  you,  and  there- 
fore vou  placed  him  in  the  pit ;  what 
then  will  you  do  with  a  servant  who 
rebels  against  his  master?  Now 
therefore  sell  him  unto  us,  and  we 
will  give  you  all  that  you  require  for 
him  ;  and  the  Lord  was  pleased  to 
do  this  in  order  that  the  sons  of  Ja- 
cob should  not  slay  their  brother. 

18.  And  the  Midianites  saw  that 
Joseph  was  of  a  comely  appearance 
and  well-favored  ;  they  desired  him 
in  their  hearts  and  were  urgent  to 
purchase  him  from  his  brethren. 

19.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  hear- 
kened to  the  Midianites  and  they 
sold  their  brother  Joseph  to  them  for 
twenty  pieces  of  silver,  and  Reuben 
their  brother  was  not  with  them,  and 
the  Midianites  took  Joseph  and  con- 
tinued their  journey  to  Gilead. 

20.  They  w^ere  going  along  the 
road,  and  the  Midianites  repented 
of  what  they  had  done,  in  having 
purchased  the  young  man,  and  one 
said  to  tlie  other,  what  is  this  thing 
that  we   have  done,   in  taking  this 


130 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


youth  from  the  Hebrews,  who  is  of 
comely  appearance  and  well  favor- 
ed. 

21.  Perhaps  this  youth  is  stolen 
from  the  land  of  the  Hebrews,  and 
why  then  have  we  done  this  thing  ? 
and  if  he  should  be  sought  for  and 
found  in  our  hands  we  shall  die 
through  him. 

22.  Now  surely  hardy  and  power- 
ful men  have  sold  him  to  us,  the 
strength  of  one  of  whom  you  saw 
this  day ;  perhaps  they  stole  him 
fi'om  his  land  with  their  might  and 
with  their  powerful  arm,  and  have 
therefore  sold  him  to  us  for  the  small 
value  which  we  gave  unto  them. 

23.  And  whilst  they  were  thus  dis- 
coursing together,  they  looked,  and 
behold  the  company  of  Ishmaelites 
which  was  coming  at  first,  and  which 
the  sons  of  Jacob  saw,  was  advanc- 
ing toward  the  Midianites,  and  the 
Midianites  said  to  each  other,  come 
let  us  sell  this  youth  to  the  company 
of  Ishmaelites  who  are  coming  to- 
ward us,  and  we  will  take  for  him 
the  little  that  we  gave  for  him,  and 
we  will  be  delivered  from  his  evil. 

24.  And  they  did  so,  and  they 
reached  the  Ishmaelites,  and  the  Mi- 
dianites sold  Joseph  to  the  Ishmael- 
ites for  twenty  pieces  of  silver  which 
they  had  given  for  him  to  his  bre- 
thren. 

25.  And  the  Midianites  went  on 
their  road  to  Gilead,  and  the  Ish- 
maelites took  Joseph  and  they  let 
him  ride  upon  one  of  the  camels,  and 
they  were  leading  him  to  Egypt. 

26.  And  Joseph  heard  that  the 
Ishmaelites  were  proceeding  to 
Egypt,  and  Joseph  lamented  and 
wept  at  this  thing  that  he  was  to  be 
so  far  removed  from  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, from  his  father,  and  he  wept 
bitterly  whilst  he  was  riding  upon 


the  camel,  and  one  of  their  men  ob- 
served him,  and  made  him  go  down 
from  the  camel  and  walk  on  foot,  and 
notwithstanding  this  Joseph  continu- 
ed to  cry  and  weep,  and  he  said,  O 
my  father,  my  father. 

27.  And  one  of  the  Ishmaelites 
rose  vip  and  smote  Joseph  upon  the 
cheek,  and  still  he  continued  to  weep  ;. 
and  Joseph  was  fatigued  in  the  road^ 
and  was  unable  to  proceed  on  account 
of  the  bitterness  of  his  soul,  and  they 
all  smote  him  and  afflicted  him  in  the 
road,  and  they  terrified  him  in  order 
that  he  might  cease  from  weeping. 

28.  And  the  Lord  saw  the  affliction 
of  Joseph  and  his  trouble,  and  the 
Lord  brought  down  upon  those  men 
darkness  and  confusion,  and  the  hand 
of  every  one  that  smote  him  became 
withered. 

29.  And  they  said  to  each  other^ 
what  is  this  thing  that  God  has  done 
to  us  in  the  road  1  and  they  knew 
not  that  this  befel  them  on  account 
of  Joseph.  And  the  men  proceeded 
on  the  road,  and  they  passed  along, 
the  road  of  Ephrath  where  Rachel 
was  buried. 

30.  And  Joseph  reached  his  mo- 
ther's grave,  and  Joseph  hastened 
and  ran  to  his  mother's  grave,  and 
fell  upon  the  grave  and  wept. 

31.  And  Joseph  cried  aloud  upon 
his  mother's  grave,  and  he  said,  O 
my  mother,  my  mother,  O'thou  who- 
didst  give  me  birth,  awake  now,  and 
rise  and  see  thy  son,  how  he  has  been 
sold  for  a  slave,  and  no  one  to  pity 
him. 

32.  0  rise  and  see  thy  son,  weep 
with  me  on  account  of  my  troubles, 
and  see  the  heart  of  my  brethren. 

33.  Arouse  my  mother,  arouse, 
awake  from  thy  sleep  for  me,  and 
direct  thy  battles  against  my  bre- 
thren.    O  how  have  they  stripped 


The!  book  of  jasher. 


131 


file  of  my  coat,  and  sold  me  already 
twice  for  a  slave,  and  separated  me 
from  my  father,  and  there  is  no  one 
to  pity  me. 

34.  Arouse  and  lay  thy*  cause 
against  them  before  God,  and  see 
whom  God  will  justify  in  the  judg- 
ment, and  whom  he  will  condemn. 

35.  Rise  0  my  mother,  rise,  awake 
from  thy  sleep  and  see  my  father  how 
his  soul  is  with  me  this  day,  and 
comfort  him  and  ease  his  heart. 

36.  And  Joseph  continued  to  speak 
these  words,  and  Joseph  cried  aloud 
and  Wept  bitterly  upon  his  mother's 
grave  ;  and  he  ceased  speaking,  and 
from  bitterness  of  heart  he  became 
Still  as  a  stone  upon  the  grave. 

37.  And  Joseph  heard  a  voice 
speaking  to  him  from  beneath  the 
ground,  which  answered  him  with 
bitterness  of  heart,  and  with  a  voice  of 
weeping  and  praying  in  these  words  ; 

38.  My  son,  my  son  Joseph,  I  have 
heard  the  voice  of  thy  weeping  and 
the  voice  of  thy  lamentation  ;  I  have 
seen  thy  tears  ;  I  know  thy  troubles, 
my  son,  and  it  grieves  me  for  thy 
sake,  and  abundant  grief  is  added  to 
my  grief. 

39.  Now  therefore  my  son,  Joseph 
my  son,  hope  to  the  Lord,  and  wait 
for  him  and  do  not  fear,  for  the  Lord 
is  with  thee,  he  will  deliver  thee  from 
all  trouble. 

40.  Rise  my  son,  go  down  unto 
Egypt  with  thy  masters,  and  do  not 
fear,  for  the  Lord  is  with  thee,  my 
son.  And  she  continued  to  speak 
like  unto  these  words  unto  Joseph, 
and  she  was  still. 

*  Hebrew,  "i^nupo  thy  pleadings  ;  this  word 
IS  not  found  to  have  this  meaning  in  scripture, 
but  it  is  used  in  the  Chaldee,  though  I  have  no 
doubt  it  is  a  Hebrew  root  |pD  to  goad,  as  in 
Genesis,  ch.  45,  v.  17.  To  plead  or  argue, 
therefore,  bears  an  affinity  to  the  Hebrew  ipo 
10  goad. 


41.  And  Joseph  heard  this,  and 
he  wondered  greatly  at  this,  and  he 
continued  to  weep ;  and  after  this 
one  of  the  Ishmaeliles  observed  him 
crying  and  weeping  upon  the  grave, 
and  his  anger  was  kindled  against 
him,  and  he  drove  him  from  there, 
and  he  smote  him  and  cursed  him. 

42.  And  Joseph  said  unto  the  men, 
may  I  find  grace  in  your  sight  to  take 
me  back  to  my  father's  house,  and 
he  will  give  you  abundance  of  riches. 

43.  And  they  answered  him,  say- 
ing, art  thou  not  a  slave,  and  where 
is  thy  father  ?  and  if  thou  hadst  a  fa- 
ther thou  wouldst  not  already  twice 
have  been  sold  for  a  slave  for  so  little 
value ;  and  their  anger  was  still  roused 
against  him,  and  they  continued  to 
smite  him  and  to  chastise  him,  and 
Joseph  wept  bitterly. 

44.  And  the  Lord  saw  Joseph's 
affliction,  and  the  Lord  again  smote 
these  men,  and  chastised  them,  and 
the  Lord  caused  darkness  to  envelope 
them  upon  the  earth,  and  the  light- 
ning flashed  and  the  thunder  roared, 
and  the  earth  shook  at  the  voice  of 
the  thunder  and  of  the  mighty  \vind, 
and  the  men  were  terrified  anxi  knew 
not  where  they  should  go. 

45.  And  the  beasts  and  camels 
stood  still,  and  they  led  them,  but 
they  would  not  go,  they  smote  them, 
and  they  crouched  upon  the  ground  ; 
and  the  men  said  to  each  other,  what 
is  this  that  God  has  done  to  us  ?  what 
are  our  transgressions,  and  what  are 
our  sins  that  this  thing  has  thus  be- 
fallen us  ? 

46.  And  one  of  them  answered 
and  said  unto  them,  perhaps  on  ac 
count  of  the  sin  of  afflicting  this  slave 
has  this  thing  happened  this  day  to 
us ;  now  therefore  implore  him 
strongly  to  forgive  us,  and  then  we 
shall  know   on  whose   account  this 


132 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


evil  befalleth  us ;  and  if  God  shall 
have  compassion  over  us,  then  we 
shall  know  that  all  this  cometh  to  us 
on  account  of  the  sin  of  afflicting  this 
slave. 

47.  And  the  men  did  so,  and  they 
supplicated  Joseph  and  pressed  him 
to  forgive  them  ;  and  they  said,  we 
liave  sinned  to  the  Lord  and  to  thee, 
now  therefore  vouchsafe  to  request 
of  thy  God  that  he  shall  put  away 
this  death  from  amongst  us,  for  we 
have  sinned  to  him. 

48.  And  Joseph  did  according  to 
their  words,  and  the  Lord  hearkened 
to  Joseph,  and  the  Lord  put  away 
the  plague  yvhich  he  had  inflicted 
upon  those  men  on  account  of  Jo- 
seph, and  the  beasts  rose  up  from 
the  ground  and  they  conducted  them, 
and  they  went  on,  and  the  raging 
storm  abated  and  the  earth  became 
tranquilized,  and  the  men  proceeded 
on  their  journey  to  go  down  to  Egypt, 
and  the  men  knew  that  this  evil  had 
befallen  them  on  account  of  Joseph. 

49.  And  they  said  to  each  other, 
behold  we  know  that  it  was  on  ac- 
count of  his  affliction  that  this  evil 
befel  us ;  now  therefore  why  shall 
we  bring  this  death  upon  our  souls  ? 
Jjet  us  hold  counsel  what  to  do  to 
this  slave. 

50.  And  one  answered  and  said, 
surely  he  told  us  to  bring  him  back 
to  his  father  ;  now  tlierefore  come,  let 
us  take  him  back  and  we  will  go  to 
the  place  that  he  will  tell  us,  and  take 
from  his  family  the  price  that  we  gave 
for  him  and  we  will  then  go  away. 

5L  And  one  answered  again  and 
said,  behold  this  counsel  is  very  good, 
but  we  cannot  do  so  for  the  way  is 
very  far  from  us,  and  we  cannot  go 
out  of  our  road. 

52.  And  one  more  answered  and 
said  unto  them,  this  is  the  counsel  to 


be  adopted,  we  will  not  swerve  from 
it ;  behold  we  are  this  day  going  to 
Egypt,  and  when  we  &hall  have  come 
to  Egypt,  we  will  sell  him  there  at  a 
high  price,  and  we  will  be  delivered 
from  his  evil. 

53.  And  this  thing  pleased  the 
men  and  they  did  so,  and  they  con- 
tinued their  journey  to  Egypt  with 
Joseph. 

CHAPTER  XLIIL 

1 .  And  when  the  sons  of  Jacob- 
had  sold  their  brother  Joseph  to  the 
Midianites,  their  hearts  were  smitten 
on  account  of  him,  and  they  repented 
of  their  acts,  and  they  sought  for 
him  to  bring  him  back,  but  could  not 
find  him. 

2.  And  Reuben  returned  to  the 
pit  in  which  Joseph  had  been  put,  in 
order  to  lift  him  out,  and  restore  him 
to  his  father,  and  Reuben  stood  by 
the  pit,  and  he  heard  not  a  word,  and 
he  called  out  Joseph  !  Joseph  !  and 
no  one  answered  nor  uttered  a 
word. 

3.  And  Reuben  said,  Joseph  has 
died  through  fright,  or  some  serpent 
has  caused  his  death ;  and  Reuben 
descended  into  the  pit,  and  he  search- 
ed for  Joseph  and  could  not  find  him 
in  the  pit,  and  he  came  out  again. 

4.  And  Reuben  tore  his  garments 
and  he  said,  the  child  is  not  there, 
and  how  shall  I  reconcile  my  father 
about  him  if  he  be  dead  ?  and  he 
went  to  his  brethren  and  found  them 
grieving  on  account  of  Joseph,  and 
counselling  together  how  to  reconcile 
their  father  about  him,  and  Reuben 
said  unto  his  brethren,  I  came  to  the 
pit  and  behold  Joseph  was  not  there, 
what  then  shall  we  say  unto  our  fa- 
ther, for  my  father  will  only  seek  the 
lad  from  me. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHEll. 


i:^:^ 


5.  And  his  brethren  answered  him 
saying,  thus  and  thus  we  did,  and 
our  hearts  afterward  siriote  us  on  ac- 
count of  this  act,  and  we  7ioiu  sit  to 
seek  a  pretext  how  we  shall  recon- 
cile our  father  to  it. 

6.  And  Reuben  said  unto  them, 
what  is  this  you  have  done  to  bring 
down  the  grey  hairs  of  our  father  in 
sorrow  to  the  grave  ?  the  thing  is  not 
good,  that  you  have  done. 

7.  And  Reuben  sat  with  them,  and 
they  all  rose  up  and  swore  to  each 
other  not  to  tell  this  thing  unto  Jacob, 
and  they  all  said,  the  man  who  will 
tell  this  to  our  father  or  his  household, 
or  who  will  report  this  to  any  of  the 
children  of  the  land,  we  will  all  rise 
up  against  him  and  slay  him  w-ith  the 
sword, 

8.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  feared 
each  other  in  this  matter,  from  the 
youngest  to  the  oldest,  and  no  one 
spoke  a  word,  and  they  concealed  the 
thing  in  their  hearts. 

9.  And  they  afterward  sat  down 
to  determine  and  invent  something  to 
say  unto  their  father  Jacob  concern- 
ing all  these  things. 

10.  And  Issachar  said  unto  them, 
here  is  an  advice  for  you  if  it  seem 
good  in  your  eyes  to  do  this  thing, 
take  the  coat  which  helongeth  to  Jo- 
seph and  tear  it,  and  kill  a  kid  of  the 
goats  and  dip  it  in  its  blood. 

1 1 .  And  send  it  to  our  father  and 
when  he  seeth  it  he  will  say  an  evil 
beast  has  devoured  him,  therefore 
tear  ye  his  coat  and  behold  his  blood 
will  be  upon  his  coat,  and  by  your 
doing  this  we  shall  be  free  of  our 
father's  murmurings. 

12.  And  Issachar's  advice  pleased 
them,  and  they  hearkened  unto  him 
"and  the}''  did  according  to  the  word 
of  Issachar  which  he  had  counselled 
ihem. 


13.  And  they  hastened  and  took 
Joseph's  coat  and  tore  it,  and  they 
killed  a  kid  of  the  goats  and  dipped 
the  coat  in  the  blood  of  the  kid,  and 
then  trampled  it  in  the  dust,  and  they 
sent  the  coat  to  their  father  Jacob  by 
the  hand  of  Naphtali,  and  they  com- 
manded him  to  say  these  words. 

14.  We  had  gathered  in  the  cattle 
and  had  come  as  far  as  the  road  to 
tShechem  and  farther,  when  we  found 
this  coat  upon  the  road  in  the  wil- 
dcrness  dipped  in  blood  and  in  dust ; 
now  therefore  know  whether  it  be 
thy  son's  coat  or  not. 

15.  And  Naphtali  went  and  he 
came  unto  his  father  and  he  gave  him 
the  coat,  and  he  spoke  unto  him  all 
the  words  which  his  brethren  had 
commanded  him. 

16.  And  Jacob  saw  Joseph's  coat 
and  he  knew  it  and  he  fell  upon  his 
face  to  the  ground,  and  became  as 
still  as  a  stone,  and  he  afterward  rose 
up  and  cried  out  with  a  loud  and 
weeping  voice  and  he  said,  it  is  the 
coat  of  my  son  Joseph  ! 

17.  And  Jacob  hastened  and  sent 
one  of  his  servants  to  his  sons,  who 
went  to  them  and  found  them  coming 
along  the  road  with  the  flock. 

18.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  came 
to  their  father  about  evening,  and 
behold  their  garments  were  torn  and 
dust  was  upon  their  heads,  and  they 
found  their  father  crying  out  and 
weeping  with  a  loud  voice. 

19.  And  Jacob  said  unto  his  sons, 
tell  me  truly  what  evil  have  you  this 
day  suddenly  brought  upon  me  ?  and 
they  answered  their  father  Jacob, 
saying,  we  were  coming  along  this 
day  after  the  flock  had  been  gather- 
ed in,  and  we  came  as  far  as  the  city 
of  Shechem  by  the  road  in  the  wil- 
derness, and  we  found  this  coat  filled 
with  blood  upon  the  ground,  and  we 


134 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


knew  it   and  we  sent  unto  thee  if 
thou  couldst  know  it. 

20.  And  Jacob  heard  the  words  of 
his  sons  and  he  cried  out  with  a  loud 
voice,  and  he  said  it  is  the  coat  of 
my  son,  an  evil  beast  has  devoured 
him  ;  Joseph  is  rent  in  pieces,  for  I 
sent  him  this  day  to  see  whether  it 
was  well  with  you  and  well  with  the 
flocks  and  to  bring  me  word  again  from 
you,  and  he  went  as  I  commanded 
him,  and  this  has  happened  to  him 
this  day  whilst  I  thought  my  son  was 
with  you, 

21.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  answer- 
ed and  said,  he  did  not  come  to  us, 
neither  have  we  seen  him  from  the 
time  of  our  going  out  from  thee  until 
now. 

22.  And  when  Jacob  heard  their 
words  he  again  cried  out  aloud  and  he 
rose  up  and  tore  his  garments,  and 
he  put  sackcloth  upon  his  loins,  and 
he  wept  bitterly  and  he  mourned 
and  lifted  up  his  voice  in  weeping 
and  exclaimed  and  said  these  words, 

23.  Joseph  my  son,  O  my  son  Jo- 
seph, I  sent  thee  this  day  after  the 
welfare  of  thy  brethren,  and  behold 
thou  hast  been  torn  in  pieces ; 
through  my  hand  has  this  happened 
to  my  son. 

24.  It  gieves  me  for  thee  Joseph 
my  son,  it  grieves  me  for  thee  ;  how 
sweet  wast  thou  to  me  during  life, 
and  now  how  exceedingly  bitter  is 
thy  death  to  me. 

25.  O  that  I  had  died  in  thy  stead 
Joseph  my  son,  for  it  grieves  me 
sadly  for  thee  my  son.  0  my  son,  my 
son,  Joseph  my  son,  where  art  thou, 
and  where  hast  thou  been  drawn? 
arouse,  arouse  from  thy  place,  and 
come  and  see  my  grief  for  thee,  O 
my  son  Joseph. 

26.  Come  now  and  number  the 
tears  gushing  from   my  eyes  down 


my  cheeks,  and  bring  them  up  before 
the  Lord,  that  his  anger  may  turn 
from  me. 

27.  0  Joseph  my  son  how  didst 
thou  fall,  by  the  hand  of  one  by 
whom  no  one  had  fallen  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world  unto  this  day  ; 
for  thou  hast  been  put  to  death  by 
the  smiting  of  an  enemy,  inflicted 
with  cruelty,  but  surely  I  know  that 
this  has  happened  to  thee,  on  account 
of  the  multitude  of  my  sins. 

28.  Arouse  now  and  see  how  bit- 
ter is  my  trouble  for  thee  my  son, 
although  I  did  not  rear  thee,  nor 
fashion  thee,  nor  give  thee  breath 
and  soul,  but  it  was  God  who  form- 
ed thee  and  built  thy  bones  and  co- 
vered them  with  flesh,  and  breathed 
in  thy  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  and 
then  he  gave  thee  unto  me, 

29.  Now  truly  God  who  gave 
thee  unto  me,  he  has  taken  thee  from 
me,  and  such  then  has  befallen  thee 
this  day,  and  all  the  works  of  God 
are  good. 

30.  And  Jacob  continued  to  speak 
like  unto  these  words  concerning 
Joseph,  and  he  wept  bitterly ;  he 
fell  to  the  ground  and  became  still. 

31.  And  all  the  sons  of  Jacob  see- 
ing their  father's  trouble,  they  repent- 
ed of  what  they  had  done,  and  they 
also  wept  bitterly. 

32.  And  Judah  rose  up  and  lifted 
his  father's  head  from  the  ground, 
and  placed  it  upon  his  lap,  and  he 
wiped  his  father's  tears  from  his 
cheeks,  and  Judah  wept  an  exceed- 
ing great  weeping,  whilst  his  father's 
head  was  reclining  upon  his  lap, 
still  as  a  stone. 

33.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  saw 
their  father's  trouble,  and  they  lifted 
up  their  voices  and  continued  to 
weep,  and  Jacob  was  yet  lying  upon 
the  ground  still  as  a  stone. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


13r 


34.  And  all  his  sons  and  his  ser- 
vants and  his  servants'  children  rose 
up  and  stood  round  him  to  comfort 
him,  and  he  refused  to  be  comforted. 

35.  And  the  whole  household  of 
Jacob  rose  up  and  mourned  a  great 
mourning  on  account  of  Joseph  and 
their  father's  trouble,  and  the  intel- 
ligence reached  Isaac,  the  son  of 
Abraham,  the  father  of  Jacob,  and 
he  wept  bitterly  on  account  of  Jo- 
seph, he  and  all  his  household,  and 
he  went  from  the  place  where  he 
dwelt  in  Hebron,  and  his  men  with 
him,  and  he  comforted  Jacob  his 
son,  and  he  refused  to  be  comforted. 

36.  And  after  this,  Jacob  rose  up 
from  the  ground,  and  his  tears  w'ere 
Tunning  down  his  cheeks,  and  he 
•said  unto  his  sons,  rise  up  and  take 
your  swords  and  your  bow^s,  and  go 
forth  into  the  field,  and  seek  whether 
you  can  find  my  son's  body  and  bring 
it  unto  me  that  I  may  bury  it. 

37.  Seek  also,  I  pray  you,  among 
the  beasts  and  hunt  them,  and  that 
which  shall  come  the  first  before 
you  seize  and  bring  it  unto  me,  per- 
haps the  Lord  will  this  day  pity  my 
affliction,  and  prepare  before  you 
that  which  did  tear  my  son  in  pieces, 
and  bring  it  unto  me,  and  I  will 
avenge  the  cause  of  my  son. 

38.  And  his  sons  did  as  their  fath- 
er had  commanded  them,  and  they 
rose  up  early  in  the  morning,  and 
each  took  his  sword  and  his  bow  in 
his  hand,  and  they  went  forth  into 
the  field  to  hunt  the  beasts. 

39.  And  Jacob  was  still  crying 
aloud  and  weeping  and  walking  to 
and  fro  in  the  house,  and  smiting  his 
hands  together,  saying,  Joseph  my 
son,  Joseph  my  son. 

40.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  went 
into  the  wilderness  to  seize  the 
beasts,  and  behold  a  wolf  came  to- 


ward them,  and  they  seized  him,  and 
brought  him  unto  their  father,  and 
ihev  said  luito  him,  this  is  the  first 
we  have  found,  and  we  have  brought 
him  unto  thee  as  tiiou  didst  com- 
mand us,  and  thy  son's  body  we  could 
not  find. 

41 .  And  Jacob  took  the  beast  from 
the  hands  of  his  sons,  and  he  cried 
out  with  a  loud  and  weeping  voice, 
holding  the  beast  in  his  hand,  and 
he  spoke  with  a  bitter  heart  unto  the 
beast,  whv  didst  thou  devour  my 
son  Joseph,  and  how  didst  thou  have 
no  fear  of  the  God  of  the  earth,  or  of 
my  trouble  for  my  son  Joseph  ? 

42.  And  thou  didst  devour  my 
son  for  naught,  because  he  commit- 
ted no  violence,  and  didst  thereby 
render  me*  culpable  on  his  account, 
therefore  God  will  require  him  that 
is  persecuted. 

43.  And  the  Lord  opened  the 
mouth  of  the  beast  in  order  to  com- 
fort Jacob  with  its  words,  and  it  an- 
swered Jacob  and  spoke  these  words 
unto  him. 

44.  As  God  liveth  who  created  us 
in  the  earth,  and  as  thy  soul  liveth, 
my  lord,  I  did  not  see  thy  son,  neith- 
er'did  I  tear  him  to  pieces,  but  from 
a  distant  land  I  also  came  to  seek 
my  son  who  went  from  me  this  day, 
and  I  know  not  whether  he  be  living 
or  dead. 

45.  And  I  came  this  day  into  the 
field  to  seek  my  son,  and  your  sons 
found  me,  and  seized  me  and  in- 
creased my  grief,  and  have  this  day 
brought  me  before  thee,  and  I  have 
now  spoken  all  my  Avords  to  thee. 

46.  And  now  therefore,  0  son  of 
man,  I  am  in  thy  hands,  and  do  unto 
me  this  day  as  it  may  seem  good  in 

*  In  Jacob's  lamentation,  he  blames  himself 
for  having  sent  him,  and  having  been  the  cause 
of  his  death. 


136 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


thy  sight,  but  by  the  hfe  of  God  who 
created  me,  I  did  not  see  thy  son, 
nor  did  I  tear  him  to  pieces,  neiliier 
has  the  flesh  of  man  entered  my 
mouth  all  the  days  of  my  life. 

47.  And  when  Jacob  heard  the 
words  of  the  beast  he  was  greatly 
astonished,  and  sent  forth  the  beast 
from  his  hand,  and  she  went  her 
way. 

48.  And  Jacob  was  still  crying 
aloud  and  weeping  for  Joseph  day 
after  day,  and  he  mourned  for  his 
son  many  days. 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 

1.  And  the  sons  of  Ishmael  who 
had  bought  Joseph  from  the  Midian- 
ites,  who  had  bought  him  from  his 
brethren,  went  to  Egj^pt  wiih  Joseph, 
and  they  came  upon  the  borders  of 
Egypt,  and  when  they  came  near 
unto  Egypt,  they  met  four  men  of 
the  sons  of  Medan  the  son  of  Abra- 
ham, who  had  gone  forth  from  the 
land  of  Egypt  on  their  journey. 

2.  And  the  Ishmaelites  said  unto 
them,  do  you  desire  to  purchase  this 
slave  from  us?  and  they  said, deliver 
him  over  to  us,  and  they  delivered 
Joseph  over  to  them,  and  they  be- 
held him,  that  he  was  a  very  comely 
youth  and  they  purchased  him  for 
twenty  shekels. 

3.  And  the  Ishmaelites  continued 
their  journey  to  Egypt,  and  the 
Medanim  also  returned  that  day  to 
Egypt,  and  the  Medanim  said  to  each 
other,  behold  we  have  heard  that 
Potiphar,  an  officer  of  Pharaoh, 
captain  of  the  guard,  seeketh  a  good 
servant  who  shall  stand  before  him 
to  attend  him,  and  to  make  him  over- 
seer over  his  house  and  all  belonging 
to  him. 

4.  Now  therefore  come  let  us  sell 


him  to  him  for  what  we  may  desire,  if 
he  be  able  to  give  unto  us  that  which 
we  shall  require  for  him. 

5.  And  these  Medanim  went  and 
came  to  the  house  of  Potiphar,  and 
said  unto  him,  we  have  heard  that 
thou  seekest  a  good  servant  to  attend 
thee,  behold  we  have  a  servant  that 
will  please  thee,  if  thou  canst  give 
unto  us  that  which  we  may  desire, 
and  we  will  sell  him  unto  thee. 

6.  And  Potiphar  said,  bring  him 
before  me,  and  I  will  see  him,  and 
if  he  please  me  I  will  give  unto  you 
that  which  you  may  require  for  him, 

7.  And  the  Medanim  went  and 
brought  Joseph  and  placed  him  be- 
fore Potiphar,  and  he  saw  him,  and 
he  pleased  him  exceedingly,  and 
Potiphar  said  unto  them,  tell  me 
what  you  require  for  this  youth  ? 

8.  And  they  said,  four  hundred 
pieces  of  silver  we  desire  for  him,  and 
Potiphar  said,  I  will  give  it  you  if 
you  bring  me  the  record  of  his  sale 
to  you,  and  will  tell  me  his  history, 
for  perhaps  he  may  be  stolen,  for  this 
youth  is  neither  a  slave,  nor  the  son 
of  a  slave,  but  I  observe  in  him  the 
appearance  of  a  goodly  and  hand- 
some person. 

9.  And  the  Medanim  went  and 
brought  unto  him  the  Ishmaelites  who 
had  sold  him  to  them,  and  they  told 
him,  saying,  he  is  a  slave  and  we 
sold  him  to  them. 

10.  And  Potiphar  heard  the  words 
of  the  Ishmaelites  in  his  giving  the 
silver  unto  the  Medanim,  and  the 
Medanim  took  the  silver  and  went 
on  their  journey,  and  the  Ishmaehtes 
also  returned  home. 

1 1 .  And  Potiphar  took  Joseph  and 
brought  him  to  his  hoirse  that  he 
might  serve  him,  and  Joseph  found 
favor  in  the  sight  of  Potiphar,  and  he 
placed  confidence  in  him,  and  made 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


137 


him  overseer  over  his  house,  and  all 
liiat  belonged  to  him  he  delivered 
over  into  his  hand. 

12.  And  the  Lord  was  with  Joseph 
and  he  became  a  prosperous  man, 
and  the  Lord  blessed  the  house  of 
Polipliar  for  the  sake  of  Joseph. 

13.  And  Potiphar  left  all  that  he 
had  in  the  hand  of  Joseph,  and 
Joseph  was  one  that  caused  things 
to  come  in  and  go  out,  and  every 
thing  was  regulated  by  his  wish  in 
the  house  of  Potiphar. 

14.  And  Joseph  was  eighteen 
years  old,  a  youth  with  beautiful 
eyes  and  of  comely  appearance,  and 
like  unto  him  was  not  in  the  whole 
land  of  Eirypl. 

15.  At  that  time  whilst  he  was  in 
his  master's  house,  going  in  and  out 
of  the  house  and  attending  his 
master,  Zelicah  his  master's  wife 
lifted  up  her  eyes  toward  Joseph  and 
she  looked  at  him,  and  behold  he 
was  a  youth  comely  and  well  favored. 

16.  And  she  coveted  his  beauty 
in  her  heart,  and  her  soul  was  fixed 
upon  Joseph,  and  she  enticed  him 
day  after  day,  and  Zelicah  persuaded 
Joseph  daily,  but  Joseph  did  not  lift 
up  his  eyes  to  behold  his  master's 
wife. 

17.  And  Zelicah  said  unto  him, 
how  goodly  are  thy  appearance  and 
form,  truly  I  have  looked  at  all  the 
slaves,  and  have  not  seen  so  beauti- 
ful a  slave  as  thou  art ;  and  Joseph 
said  unto  her,  surely  he  who  created 
me  in  my  mother's  womb  created  all 
mankind. 

18.  And  she  said  unto  him,  how 
beautiful  are  thine  eyes,  with  which 
thou  hast  dazzled*  all  the  inhabitants 

*  The  Hebrew  word  3nn  is  generally  render- 
ed, to  make  sure  or  firm,  to  strengthen  ;  but  in 
Canticles,  eh.  6,  v.  5,  it  is  translated,  to  over- 
come, and  according  to  some  commentators,  to 
comfort. 


of  Egypt,  men  and  women  ;  and  he 
said  unto  her,  how  beautiful  they  are 
whilst  we  are  alive,  but  shouldst 
thou  behold  them  in  the  grave,  surely 
thou  wouldst  move  away  from  them. 

19.  And  she  said  unto  him,  how 
beautiful  and  pleasing  are  all  thy 
words  ;  take  now  I  pray  thee,  the 
harp  which  is  in  the  house,  and  play 
with  tiiy  hands  and  let  us  hear  thy 
words. 

20.  And  he  said  unto  her,  how 
beautiful  and  pleasing  are  my  words 
when  I  speak  the  praise  of  my  God 
and  his  glory  ;  and  she  said  unto  him 
how  very  beautiful  is  the  hair  of  thy 
head,  behold  the  golden  comb  which 
is  in  the  house,  take  it  I  pray  thee 
and  curl  the  hair  of  thy  head. 

21.  And  he  said  unto  her,  how 
long  wilt  thou  speak  these  words  ? 
cease  to  utter  these  words  to  me, 
and  rise  and  attend  to  thy  domestic 
affairs. 

22.  And  she  said  unto  him,  there 
is  no  one  in  my  house,  and  there 
is  nothing  to  attend  to  but  to  thy 
words  and  to  thy  wish ;  yet  not- 
withstanding all  this  she  could  not 
bring  Joseph  unto  her,  neither  did  he 
place  his  eye  upon  her,  but  directed 
his  eyes  below  to  the  ground. 

2-3.  And  Zelicah  desired  Joseph 
in  her  heart,  that  he  should  lie  with 
her,  and  at  tiie  time  that  Joseph 
was  sitting  in  the  house  doing  his 
work,  Zelicah  came  and  sat  before 
him,  and  she  enticed  him  daily  with 
her  discourse  to  lie  with  her,  or  even 
to  look  at  her,  but  Joseph  would  not 
hearken  to  her. 

24.  And  she  said  unto  him,  if  thou 
wilt  not  do  according  to  my  words, 
I  will  chastise  thee  with  the  punish- 
ment of  death,  and  put  an  iron  yoke 
upon  thee. 

25.  And   Joseph   said  unto   her. 


138 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


surely  God  who  created  man  looseth 
the  fetters  of  prisoners,  and  it  is  he 
who  will  deliver  me  from  thy  prison 
and  from  thy  judgment. 

26.  And  when  she  could  not  pre- 
vail over  him,  to  persuade  him,  and 
her  soul  being  still  fixed  upon  him, 
her  desire  threw  her  into  a  grievous 
sickness. 

27.  And  all  the  women  of  Egypt 
came  to  visit  her,  and  they  said  unto 
her,  why  art  thou  in  this  declining 
state  ?  thou  that  lackest  nothing ; 
surely  thy  husband  is  a  great  and 
esteemed  prince  in  the  sight  of  the 
king,  shouldst  thou  lack  any  thing  of 
what  thy  heart  desireth  ? 

28.  And  Zelicah  answered  them, 
saying,  this  day  it  shall  be  made 
known  to  you,  whence  this  disorder 
springs  in  which  you  see  me,  and 
she  commanded  her  maid  servants  to 
prepare  food  for  all  the  women,  and 
she  made  a  banquet  for  them,  and 
all  the  women  ate  in  the  house  of 
Zelicah. 

29.  And  she  gave  them  knives  to 
peel  the  citrons  to  eat  them,  and  she 
commanded  that  they  should  dress 
Joseph  in  costly  garments,  and  that 
he  should  appear  before  them,  and 
Joseph  came  before  their  eyes  and 
all  the  women  looked  on  Joseph,  and 
could  not  take  their  eyes  from  off 
him,  and  they  all  cut  their  hands 
with  the  knives  that  they  had  in 
their  hands,  and  all  the  citrons  that 
were  in  their  hands  were  filled  with 
blood. 

30.  And  they  knew  not  what  they 
had  done  but  they  continued  to  look 
at  the  beauty  of  Joseph,  and  did  not 
turn  their  eyelids  from  him. 

31.  And  Zelicah  saw  what  they 
had  done,  and  she  said  unto  them, 
what  is  this  work  that  you  have 
done?    behold  I  gave  you    citrons 


to   eat   and   you  have   all  cut  your 
hands. 

32.  And  all  the  women  saw  their 
hands,  and  behold  they  were  full  of 
blood,  and  their  blood  flowed  down 
upon  their  garments,  and  they  said 
unto  her,  tliis  slave  in  your  house  has 
overcome  us,  and  we  could  not  turn 
our  eyelids  from  him  on  account  of 
his  beauty. 

33.  And  she  said  unto  them, 
surely  this  happened  to  you  in  the 
moment  that  you  looked  at  him,  and 
you  could  not  contain  yourselves 
from  him  ;  how  then  can  I  refrain 
when  he  is  constantly  in  my  house, 
and  I  see  him  day  after  day  going  in 
and  out  of  my  house  ?  how  theji  can 
I  keep  from  declining  or  even  from 
perishing  on  account  of  this  ? 

34.  And  they  said  unto  her,  the 
words  are  true,  for  who  can  see  this 
beautiful  form  in  the  house  and  re- 
frain from  him,  and  is  he  not  thy  slave 
and  attendant  in  thy  house,  and  why 
dost  thou  not  tell  him  that  which  is 
in  thy  heart,  and  sufferest  thy  soul 
to  perigh  through  this  matter  ? 

35.  And  she  said  unto  them,  I  am 
daily  endeavoring  to  persuade  him, 
and  he  will  not  consent  to  my  wishes, 
and  I  promised  him  every  thing  that 
is  good,  and  yet  I  could  meet*  with 
no  return  from  him  ;  I  am  therefore 
in  a  declining  state  as  you  see. 

36.  And  Zelicah  became  very  ill 
on  account  of  her  desire  toward  Jo- 
seph, and  she  was  desperately  love- 
sick on  account  of  him,  and  all  the 
people  of  the  house  of  Zelicah  and 
her  husband  knew  nothing  of  this 
matter,  that  Zelicah  was  ill  on  ac- 
count of  her  love  to  Joseph. 

37.  And  all  the  people  of  her  house 
asked  her,  saying,  why  art  thou  ill 
and  declining,  and  lackest  nothing  ? 

*  Hebrew,  I  could  not  find  anything  in  him. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


139 


and  she  said  unto  them,  I  know  not 
this  thing  which  is  daily  increasing 
upon  me. 

38.  And  all  the  women  and  her 
friends  came  daily  to  see  her,  and 
they  spoke  with  her,  and  she  said 
unto  them,  tliis  can  only  be  through 
the  love  of  Joseph  ;  and  they  said 
unto  her,  entice  him  and  seize  him 
secretly,  perhaps  he  may  hearken  to 
thee,  and  put  off  this  death  from 
thee. 

39.  And  Zelicah  became  worse 
from  her  love  to  Joseph,  and  she  con- 
tinued to  decline,  till  she  had  scarce 
strength  to  stand. 

40.  And  on  a  certain  day  Joseph 
was  doing  his  master's  work  in  the 
house,  and  Zelicah  came  secretly 
and  fell  suddenly  upon  him,  and  Jo- 
seph rose  up  against  her,  and  he  was 
more  powerful  than  she,  and  he 
brought  her  down  to  the  ground. 

41.  And  Zelicah  wept  on  account 
of  the  desire  of  her  heart  toward  him, 
and  she  supplicated  him  with  weep- 
ing, and  her  tears  flowed  down  her 
cheeks,  and  she  spoke  unto  him  in  a 
voice  of  supplication  and  in  bitterness 
of  soul,  saying, 

42.  Hast  thou  ever  heard,  seen  or 
known  of  so  beautiful  a  woman  as  I 
am,  or  better  than  myself,  who  speak 
daily  unto  thee,  fall  into  a  decline 
through  love  for  thee,  confer  all  this 
honor  upon  thee,  and  still  thou  wilt 
not  hearken  to  my  voice  ? 

43.  And  if  it  be  through  fear  of 
thy  master  lest  he  punish  thee, 
as  the  king  liveth  no  harm  shall  come 
to  thee  from  thy  master  through  this 
thing ;  now  therefore  pray  listen  to 
me,  and  consent  for  the  sake  of  the 
honor  which  I  have  conferred  upon 
thee,  and  put  off  this  death  from  me, 
and  why  should  I  die  for  thy  sake  ? 
and  she  ceased  to  speak. 


44.  And  Joseph  answered  her, 
saying,  refrain  from  mc,  and  leave 
this  matter  to  my  master ;  behold 
my  master  knoweth  not  what  there 
is  with  me  in  the  house,  for  all  that 
belongeth  to  him  he  has  delivered 
into  my  hand,  and  how  shall  I  do 
these  things  in  my  master's  house  ? 

45.  For  he  hath  also  greatly  ho- 
nored me  in  his  house,  and  he  hath 
also  made  me  overseer  over  his  house, 
and  he  hath  exalted  me,  and  there  is 
no  one  greater  in  this  house  than  I 
am,  and  my  master  hath  refrained 
nothing  from  me,  excepting  thee  who 
art  his  wife,  how  then  canst  thou 
speak  these  words  unto  me,  and  how 
can  I  do  this  great  evil  and  sin  to 
God  and  to  thy  husband  ? 

46.  Now  therefore  refrain  from 
me,  and  speak  no  more  such  words 
as  these,  for  I  will  not  hearken  to  thy 
words.  But  Zelicah  would  not  hear- 
ken to  Joseph  when  he  spoke  these 
words  unto  her,  but  she  daily  enticed 
him  to  listen  to  her. 

47.  And  it  was  after  this  that  the 
brook  of  Egypt  was  filled  above  alj 
its  sides,  and  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Egypt  went  forth,  and  also  the  king 
and  princes  w^ent  forth  with  timbrels 
and  dances,  for  it  was  a  great  rejoic- 
ing in  Egypt,  and  a  holiday  at  the 
time  of  the  inundation  of  the  sea  Sihor, 
and  they  went  there  to  rejoice  all  the 

48.  And  when  the  Egyptians  went 
out  to  the  river  to  rejoice,  as  was 
their  custom,  all  the  people  of  the 
house  of  Potiphar  went  witii  them, 
but  Zelicah  would  not  go  with  them, 
for  she  said,  I  am  indisposed,  and 
she  remained  alone  in  the  house,  and 
no  other  person  was  with  her  in  the 
house. 

49.  And  she  rose  up  and  ascended 
to  her  temple  in  the  house,  and  dress- 


140 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


ed  herself  in  princely  garments,  and 
she  placed  upon  her  head  precious 
stones  of  onyx  stones,  inlaid  with  sil- 
ver and  gold,  and  she  beautified  her 
face  and  skin  with  all  sorts  of  wo- 
men's purifying  liquids,  and  she  per- 
fumed the  temple  and  the  house  with 
cassia  and  frankincense,  and  she 
spread  myrrh  and  aloes,  and  she  af- 
terward sat  in  the  entrance  of  the 
temple,  in  the  passage  of  the  house, 
through  which  Joseph  passed  to  do 
his  work,  and  behold  Joseph  came 
from  the  field,  and  entered  the  house 
to  do  his  master's  work. 

50.  And  he  came  to  the  place 
through  which  he  had  to  pass,  and 
he  saw  all  the  work  of  Zelicah,  and 
he  turned  back. 

51.  And  Zelicah  saw'Joseph  turn- 
ing back  from  her,  and  she  called  out 
to  him,  saying,  what  aileth  thee  Jo- 
seph ?  come  to  thy  work,  and  behold 
I  will  make  room  for  thee  until  thou 
shalt  have  passed  to  thy  seat. 

52.  And  Joseph  returned  and  came 
to  the  house,  and  passed  from  thence 
•to  the  place  of  his  seat,  and  he  sat 
down  to  do  his  master's  work  as 
usual,  and  behold  Zelicah  came  to 
him  and  stood  before  him  in  princely 
garments,  and  the  scent  from  her 
clothes  was  spread  to  a  distance. 

53.  And  she  hastened  and  caught 
hold  of  Joseph  and  his  garments,  and 
she  said  unto  him,  as  the  king  liveth 
if  thou  wilt  not  perform  my  request 
thou  shalt  die  this  day,  and  she  has- 
tened and  stretched  forth  her  other 
hand  and  drew  a  sword  from  beneath 
her  garments,  and  she  placed  it  upon 
Joseph's  neck,  and  she  said,  rise  and 
perform  my  request,  and  if  not  thou 
diest  this  day. 

54.  And  Joseph  was  afraid  of  her 
at  her  doing  this  thing,  and  he  rose 
up  to  flee  from  her,  and  she  seized 


the  front  of  his  garments,  and  in  the 
terror  of  his  flight  the  garment  which 
Zelicah  seized  was  torn,  and  Joseph 
left  the  garment  in  the  hand  of  Zeh- 
cah,  and  he  fled  and  got  out,  for  he 
was  in  fear. 

55.  And  when  Zelicah  saw  that 
Joseph's  garment  was  torn,  and  that 
he  had  left  it  in  her  hand,  and  had  fled, 
she  was  afraid  of  her  life,  lest  the 
report  should  spread  concerning  her, 
and  she  rose  up  and  acted  with  cun- 
ning, and  put  off"  the  garments  in 
which  she  was  dressed,  and  she  put 
on  her  other  garments. 

56.  And  she  took  Joseph's  gar- 
ment and  she  laid  it  beside  her,  and 
she  went  and  seated  herself  in  the 
place  where  she  had  sat  in  her  ill- 
ness, before  the  people  of  her  house 
had  gone  out  to  the  river,  and  she 
called  a  young  lad  who  was  then  in 
the  house,  and  she  ordered  him  to 
call  the  people  of  the  house  to  her. 

57.  And  when  she  saw  them  she 
said  unto  them  with  a  loud  voice  and 
lamentation  see  what  a  Hebrew  your 
master  has  brought  to  me  in  the 
house,  for  he  came  this  day  to  lie 
with  me. 

58.  For  when  you  had  gone  out 
he  came  to  the  house,  and  seeing 
that  there  was  no  person  in  the 
house,  he  came  unto  me,  and  caught 
hold  of  me,  with  intent  to  lie  with 
me. 

59.  And  I  seized  his  garments 
and  tore  them  and  called  out  against 
him  with  a  loud  voice,  and  when  I 
had  lifted  up  my  voice  he  was  afraid 
of  his  life  and  left  his  garment  before 
me,  and  fled. 

60.  And  the  people  of  her  house 
spoke  nothing,  but  their  wrath  was 
very  much  kindled  against  Joseph, 
and  they  went  to  his  master  and  told 
him  the  words  of  his  wife. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JA.SHER. 


141 


61.  And  Polipliar  came  home  en- 
raged, and  his  wife  cried  out  to  liim, 
saying,  wliat  is  this  thing  thai  lliou 
hast  done  unto  me  in  bringing  a  He- 
brew servant  into  my  house,  for  he 
came  unto  me  this  day  to  sport  with 
ine  ;  thus  did  he  do  unto  me  this  day. 

62.  And  Potiphar  heard  the  words 
of  his  wife,  and  he  ordered  Joseph 
to  be  punished  with  severe  stripes, 
and  they  did  so  to  him. 

63.  And  whilst  they  were  smit- 
ing him,  Joseph  called  out  with  a 
loud  voice,  and  he  lifted  up  his  eyes 
to  heaven,  and  he  said,  O  Lord  God, 
thou  knowest  that  I  am  innocent  of 
all  these  things,  and  why  shall  I  die 
this  day  through  falsehood,  by  the 
hand  of  these  uncircumcised  wicked 
men,  whom  thou  knowest  ? 

64.  And  whilst  Potiphar's  men 
were  beating  Joseph  he  continued  to 
cry  out  and  weep,  and  there  was  a 
child  there  eleven  montiis  old,  and 
the  Lord  opened  the  mouth  of  the 
cliild,  and  he  spake  these  words  be- 
fore Potiphar's  men,  who  were 
smiting  Joseph,  saying, 

65.  Whatdoyouwant  of  thisman, 
and  why  do  you  do  this  evil  unto 
him  ?  my  mother  speakelh  falsely 
and  uttereth  lies  ;  thus  was  the  trans- 
action. 

66.  And  the  child  told  them  accu- 
rately all  that  happened,  and  all  the 
words  of  Zelicah  to  Joseph  day  after 
day  did  he  declare  unto  them. 

67.  And  all  the  men  heard  the 
words  of  the  child  and  they  wonder- 
ed greatly  at  the  child's  words,  and 
the  child  ceased  to  speak  and  be- 
came still. 

68.  And  Potiphar  was  very  much 
ashamed  at  the  words  of  his  son,  and 
he  commanded  his  men  not  to  beat 
Joseph  any  more,  and  the  men  ceas- 
ed beating  Joseph. 


69.  And  Potiphar  took  Joseph 
and  ordered  him  to  be  brought  to 
justice  before  the  priests,  who  were 
judges  belonging  to  the  king,  in 
order  to  judge  him  concerning  this 
aifair. 

70.  And  Potiphar  and  Joseph 
came  before  the  priests  who  were  the 
king's  judges,  and  he  said  unto 
them,  decide  I  pray  you  what  judg- 
ment is  due  to  a  servant,  for  thus  has 
he  done. 

7L  And  the  priests  said  unto 
Joseph,  why  didst  thou  do  this  thing 
to  thy  master  ?  and  Joseph  answered 
them,  saying,  not  so  my  lords,  thus 
was  the  matter ;  and  Potiphar  said 
unto  Joseph,  surely  I  entrusted  in  thy 
hands  all  that  belonged  to  me,  and  I 
withheld  nothing  from  thee  but  my 
wife,  and  how  couldst  thou  do  this 
evil  ? 

72.  And  Joseph  answered,  saying, 
not  so  my  lord,  as  the  Lord  livetli, 
and  as  thy  soul  liveth,  my  lord,  the 
word  which  thou  didst  hear  from  thy 
wife  is  untrue,  for  thus  was  the 
affair  this  day. 

73.  A  year  has  elapsed  to  me 
since  I  have  been  in  thy  house ;  hast 
thou  seen  any  iniquity  in  me,  or  any 
thing  which  might  cause  thee  to  de- 
mand my  life? 

74.  And  the  priests  said  unto 
Potiphar,  send,  we  pray  thee,  and 
let  them  bring  before  us  Joseph's 
torn  garment,  and  let  us  see  the  tear 
in  it,  and  if  it  shall  be  that  the  tear 
is  in  front  of  the  ganncnt,  then  his 
face  must  have  been  opposite  to  her 
and  she  must  have  caught  hold  of 
him,  to  come  to  her,  and  with  deceit 
did  thy  wife  do  all  that  she  has 
spoken. 

75.  And  they  brought  Joseph's 
garment  before  the  priests  who  icere 
judges,  and  they  saw  and  behold  the 


142 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


tear  was  in  front  of  Joseph,  and  all 
the  judging  priests  knew  that  she 
had  pressed  him,  and  they  said,  the 
judgment  of  death  is  not  due  to  this 
slave  for  he  has  done  nothing,  but 
his  judgment  is,  that  he  be  placed  in 
the  prison  house  on  account  of  the 
report,  which  through  him  has  gone 
forth  against  thy  wife. 

76.  And  Potiphar  heard  their 
words,  and  he  placed  him  in  the 
prison  house,  the  place  where  the 
king's  prisoners  are  confined,  and 
Joseph  was  in  the  house  of  confine- 
ment twelve  years. 

77.  And  notwithstanding  this,  his 
master's  wife  did  not  turn  from  him, 
and  she  did  not  cease  from  speaking 
to  him  day  after  day  to  hearken  to 
her,  and  at  the  end  of  three  months 
Zelicah  continued  going  to  Joseph 
to  the  house  of  confinement  day  by 
day,  and  she  enticed  him  to  hearken 
to  her,  and  Zelicah  said  unto  Joseph, 
how  long  wilt  thou  remain  in  this 
house?  but  hearken  now  to  my  voice 
and  I  will  bring  thee  out  of  this 
house. 

78.  And  Joseph  answered  her, 
saying,  it  is  better  for  me  to  remain 
in  this  house  than  to  hearken  to  thy 
words,  to  sin  against  God ;  and  she 
said  unto  him,  if  thou  wilt  not  per- 
form my  wish,  I  will  pluck  out  thine 
eyes,  add  fetters  to  thy  feet,  and  will 
deliver  thee  into  the  hands  of  them 
whom  thou  didst  not  know  before. 

79.  And  Joseph  answered  her  and 
said,  behold  the  God  of  the  whole 
earth  is  able  to  deliver  me  from  all 
that  thou  canst  do  unto  me,  for  he 
openeth  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  and 
looseth  those  that  are  bound,  and 
preserveth  all  strangers  who  are  un- 
acquainted with  the  land. 

80.  And  when  Zelicah  was  unable  j 
to   persuade  Joseph  to  hearken   toi 


her,  she  left  off  going  to  entice  him; 
and  Joseph  was  still  confined  in  the 
house  of  confinement.  And  Jacob 
the  father  of  Joseph,  and  all  his 
brethren  who  were  in  the  land  of 
Canaan  still  mourned  and  wept  in 
those  days  on  account  of  Joseph,  for 
Jacob  refused  to  be  comforted  for 
his  son  Joseph,  and  Jacob  cried 
aloud,  and  wept  and  mourned  all 
those  days. 

CHAPTER  XLV. 

1.  And  it  was  at  that  time  in  that 
year,  which  is  the  year  of  Joseph's 
going  down  to  Egypt  after  his  bro- 
thers had  sold  him,  that  Reuben  the 
son  of  Jacob  went  to  Timnah  and 
took  unto  him  for  a  wife  Eliuram, 
the  daughter  of  Avi  the  Canaanite, 
and  he  came  to  her. 

2.  And  Eliuram  the  wife  of  Reu- 
ben conceived  and  bare  him  Hanoch, 
Palu,  Chetzron  and  Carmi,  four 
sons  ;  and  Simeon  his  brother  took 
his  sister  Dinah  for  a  wife,  and  she 
bare  unto  him  Memuel,  Yamin, 
Ohad,  Jachin  and  Zochar,  five 
sons. 

3.  And  he  afterward  came  to 
Bunah  the  Canaanitish  woman,  the 
same  is  Bunah  whom  Simeon  took 
captive  from  the  city  of  Shechem, 
and  Bunah  was  before  Dinah  and  at- 
tended upon  her,  and  Simeon  came 
to  lier,  and  she  bare  unto  him  Saul, 

4.  And  Judah  went  at  that  time 
to  Adulam,  and  he  came  to  a  man  of 
Adulam,  and  his  name  was  Hirah, 
and  Judah  saw  there  the  daughter 
of  a  man  from  Canaan,  and  her 
name  was  Aliyath,  the  daughter  of 
Shua,  and  he  took  her,  and  came 
to  her,  and  Aliyath  bare  unto  Judah, 
Er,  Onan  and  Shiloh  ;  three  sons. 

5.  And  Levi  and  Issachar  went 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASIIER. 


143 


to  the  land  of  the  east,  and  they  took 
unto  themselves  for  wives  the 
daughters  of  Jobab  the  son  of  Yok- 
tan,  the  son  of  Eber ;  and  Jobab  the 
son  of  Yoktan  had  two  daughters  ; 
the  name  of  the  elder  was  Adinah, 
and  the  name  of  the  younger  was 
Aridah. 

6.  And  Levi  took  Adina,  and  Is- 
sachar  took  Aridah,  and  they  came 
to  the  land  of  Canaan,  to  their 
father's  house,  and  Adinah  bare  unto 
Levi,  Gershon,  Kehath  and  Merari ; 
three  sons. 

7.  And  Aridah  bare  unto  Issachar 
Tola,  Puvah,  Job  and  Shomron,  four 
sons  ;  and  Dan  went  to  the  land  of 
Moab  and  took  for  a  wife  Aphlaleth, 
the  daughter  of  Chamudan  the 
Moabite,  and  he  brought  her  to  the 
land  of  Canaan. 

8.  And  Aphlaleth  was  barren,  she 
had  no  offspring,  and  God  afterward 
remembered  Aphlaleth  the  wife  of 
Dan,  and  she  conceived  and  bare 
a  son,  and  she  called  his  name  Chus- 
him. 

9.  And  Gad  and  Naphtali  went  to 
Haran  and  took  from  thence  the 
daughters  of  Amuram  the  son  of  Uz, 
the  son  of  Nahor,  for  wives. 

10.  And  these  are  the  names  of 
the  daughters  of  Amuram  ;  the  name 
of  the  elder  was  Merimah,  and  the 
name  of  the  younger  Uzith ;  and 
Naphtali  took  Merimah,  and  Gad 
took  Uzith ;  and  brought  them  to  the 
land  of  Canaan,  to  their  father's 
house. 

1 1 .  And  Merimah  bare  unto 
Naphtali  Yachzeel,  Guni,  Jazer  and 
Shalem,  four  sons ;  and  Uzith  bare 
unto  Gad  Zephion,  Chagi,  Shuni, 
Ezbon,  Eri,  Arodi  and  Arali,  seven 
sons. 

12.  And  Asher  went  forth  and 
took  Adon  tlie  daughter  of  Aphlal, 


the  son  of  Hadad,  the  son  of  Ish- 
mael,  for  a  wife,  and  he  brought  her 
to  the  land  of  Canaan. 

13.  And  Adon  the  wife  of  Asher 
died  in  those  days  ;  she  had  no  off- 
spring ;  and  it  was  after  the  death  of 
Adon  that  Asher  went  to  the  other 
side  of  the  river  and  took  for  a  wife 
Hadurah  the  daughter  of  Abimacl, 
the  son  of  Eber,  the  son  of  JShem. 

14.  And  the  young  woman  was  of 
a  comely  appearance,  and  a  woman 
of  sense,  and  she  had  been  the  wife 
of  Malkicl  the  son  of  Elam,  the  son 
of  Shem. 

15.  And  Hadurah  bare  a  daughter 
unto  Malkiel,  and  he  called  her  name 
Serach,  and  Malkiel  died  after  this, 
and  Hadurah  went  and  remained  in 
her  father's  house. 

16.  And  after  the  death  of  the 
wife  of  Asher  he  went  and  took 
Hadurah  for  a  wife,  and  brought  her 
to  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  Serach 
her  daughter  he  also  brought  with 
them,  and  she  was  three  years  old, 
and  the  damsel  was  brought  up  in 
Jacob's  house. 

17.  And  the  damsel  was  of  a  come- 
ly appearance,  and  she  went  in  the 
sanctified  ways  of  the  children  of 
Jacob  ;  she  lacked  nothing,  and  the 
Lord  gave  her  wisdom  and  under- 
standing. 

18.  And  Hadurah  the  wife  of  Ash- 
er conceived  and  bare  unto  him 
Yimnah,  Yishvah,  Yishvi  and  Be- 
riah  ;  four  sons. 

19.  And  Zebulun  went  to  Midian, 
and  took  for  a  wife  Merishah  the 
daughter  of  Molad,  the  son  of  Abi- 
da,  the  son  of  Midian,  and  brought 
her  to  the  land  of  Canaan. 

20.  And  Merushah  bare  unto  Ze- 
bulun Sered,  Elon  and  Yachlcel ; 
three  sons. 

21.  And  Jacob  sent  to  Aram,  the 


144 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


son  of  Zoba,  the  son  of  Terah,  and 
he  took  for  his  son  Benjamin  Me- 
chaha  the  daughter  of  Aram,  and 
she  came  to  the  land  of  Canaan  to 
the  house  of  Jacob  ;  and  Benjamin 
was  ten  years  old  when  he  took  Me- 
chalia  the  daughter  of  Aram  for  a 
wife. 

22.  And  Mechalia  conceived  and 
bare  unto  Benjamin  Bela,  Becher, 
Ashbel,  Gera  and  Naaman,  five  sons ; 
and  Benjamin  went  afterward  and 
took  for  a  wife  Aribath,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Shomron,  the  son  of  Abraham, 
in  addition  to  his  first  wife,  and  he 
was  eighteen  years  old;  and  Aribath 
bare  unto  Benjamin  Achi,  Vosh, 
Mupim,  Chupim,  and  Ord ;  five 
sons. 

23.  And  in  those  days  Judah  went 
to  the  house  of  Shem  and  took  Ta- 
mar  the  daughter  of  Elam,  the  son  of 
Shem,  for  a  wife  for  his  first  born  Er, 

24.  And  Er  came  to  his  wife  Ta- 
mar,  and  she  became  his  wife,  and 
when  he  came  to  her  he  outwardly 
destroyed  his  seed,  and  his  work 
was  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
and  the  Lord  slew  him. 

25.  And  it  was  after  the  death  of 
Er,  Judah's  first  born,  that  Judah 
said  unto  Onan,  go  to  thy  brother's 
wife  and  marry  her  as  the  next  of 
kin,  and  raise  up  seed  to  thy  brother. 

26.  And  Onan  took  Tamar  for  a 
wife  and  he  came  to  her,  and  Onan 
also  did  like  unto  the  work  of  his 
brother,  and  his  work  was  evil  in  the 
sight  of  the  Lord,  and  he  slew  him 
also. 

27.  And  when  Onan  died,  Judah 
said  unto  Tamar,  remain  in  thy  fa- 
ther's house  until  my  son  Shiloh  shall 
have  grown  up,  and  Judah  did  no 
more  delight  in  Tamarj  to  give  her 
unto  Shiloh,  for  he  said,  perad ven- 
ture he  will  also  die  like  his  brothers. 


28.  And  Tamar  rose  up  and  went 
and  remained  in  her  father's  house, 
and  Tamar  was  in  her  fathcT's  house 
for  some  time. 

29.  And  at  the  revolution  of  the 
year,  Aliyath  the  wife  of  Judah  died; 
and  Judah  was  comforted  for  his  wife, 
and  after  the  death  of  Aliyath,  Judah 
went  up  with  his  friend  Hirah  to 
Timnah  to  shear  their  sheep. 

30.  And  Tamar  heard  that  Judah 
had  gone  up  to  Timnah  to  shear  the 
sheep,  and  that  Shiloh  was  grown  up^ 
and  Judah  did  not  delight  in  her. 

31.  And  Tamar  rose  up  and  put 
off  the  garments  of  her  widowhood, 
and  she  put  a  vail  upon  her,  and  she 
entirely  covered  herself,  and  she 
went  and  sat  in  the  public  thorough- 
fare,  which  is  upon  the  road  to  Tim- 
nah. 

32.  And  Judah  passed  and  saw 
her  and  took  her  and  he  came  to  her, 
and  she  conceived  by  him,  and  at 
the  time  of  being  delivered,  behold^ 
there  were  twins  in  her  womb,  and 
he  called  the  name  of  the  first  Perez, 
and  the  name  of  the  second  Zarah, 

CHAPTER  XLVL 

1 .  In  those  days  Joseph  was  stilF 
confined  in  the  prison  house  in  the 
land  of  Egypt. 

2.  At  that  time  the  attendants  of 
Pharaoh  were  standing  before  him^ 
the  chief  of  the  butlers  and  the  chief 
of  the  bakers  which  belonged  to  the 
king  of  Egypt. 

3.  And  the  butler  took  wine  and 
placed  it  before  the  king  to  drink, 
and  the  baker  placed  bread  before 
the  king  to  eat,  and  the  king  drank 
of  the  wine  and  ate  of  the  bread,  he 
and  his  servants  and  ministers  that 
ate  at  the  king's  table. 

4.  And  whilst  they  were  eating  and 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


145 


drinking,  the  butler  and  the  baker 
remained  there,  and  Pharaoh's  minis- 
ters found  many  flies  in  the  wine, 
which  the  butler  had  brought,  and 
stones  of  nitre  were  found  in  the  ba- 
ker's bread. 

5.  And  the  captain  of  the  guard 
placed  Joseph  as  an  attendant  on 
Pharaoh's  officers,  and  Pharaoh's  of- 
ficers were  in  confinement  one  year. 

6.  And  at  the  end  of  the  year, 
they  both  dreamed  dreams  in  one 
night,  in  the  place  of  confuicment 
where  they  were,  and  in  the  morning 
Joseph  came  to  them  to  attend  upon 
them  as  usual,  and  he  saw  them,  and 
behold  their  countenances  were  de- 
jected and  sad. 

7.  And  Joseph  asked  them,  why 
are  your  countenances  sad  and  de- 
jected this  day  ?  and  they  said  unto 
him  we  dreamed  a  dream,  and  there 
is  no  one  to  interpret  it ;  and  Joseph 
said  unto  them,  relate,  I  pray  you, 
your  dream  unto  me,  and  God  shall 
give  you  an  answer  of  peace  as  you 
desire. 

8.  And  the  butler  related  his  dream 
unto  Joseph,  and  he  said,  I  saw  in 
my  dream,  and  behold  a  large  vine 
was  before  me,  and  upon  that  vine  I 
saw  three  branches,  and  the  vine 
speedily  blossomed  and  reached  a 
great  height,  and  its  clusters  were  ri- 
pened and  became  grapes. 

9.  And  I  took  the  grapes  and 
pressed  them  in  a  cup,  and  placed  it 
in  Pharaoh's  hand  and  he  drank  ; 
and  Joseph  said  unto  him,  the  three 
branches  that  were  upon  the  vine  are 
three  days. 

10.  Yet  within  three  days,  the 
king  will  order  thee  to  be  brought  out 
and  he  will  restore  thee  to  thy  office, 
and  thou  shalt  give  the  king  his  wine 
to  drink  as  at  first  when  thou  wast  his 
butler;  but  let  me  find  favor  in  thy 

10 


sight,  that  ihou  shalt  remember  me 
to  Pharaoh  wlicn  it  will  be  well  with 
thee,  and  do  kindness  unto  me,  and 
get  me  brought  forth  from  this  prison, 
for  I  was  stolen  away  from  the  land 
of  Canaan  and  was  sold  for  a  slave 
in  this  place. 

1 1 .  And  also  that  which  was  told 
thee  concerning  my  master's  wife  is 
false,  for  they  placed  me  in  this  dun- 
geon for  naught ;  and  the  butler  an- 
swered Joseph,  saying,  if  the  king 
deal  well  with  me  as  at  first,  as  thou 
hast  interpreted  to  me,  I  will  do  all 
that  thou  desirest,  and  get  thee 
brought  out  of  this  dungeon. 

1 2.  And  the  baker,  seeing  that  Jo- 
seph had  accurately  interpreted  the 
butler's  dream,  also  approached,  and 
related  the  whole  of  his  dream  to 
Joseph. 

13.  And  he  said  unto  him,  in  my 
dream  I  saw  and  behold  three  white 
baskets  upon  my  head,  and  I  looked, 
and  behold  there  were  in  the  upper- 
most basket  all  manner  of  baked 
meats  for  Pharaoh,  and  behold  the 
birds  were  eating  them  from  off  my 
head. 

14.  And  Joseph  said  unto  him,  the 
three  baskets  which  thou  didst  see 
are  three  days,  yet  within  three  days 
Pharaoh  will  take  off  thy  head,  and 
hang  thee  upon  a  tree,  and  the  birds 
will  eat  thy  flesh  from  off  thee,  as 
thou  sawest  in  thy  dream. 

15.  In  those  days  the  queen  was 
about  to  be  delivered,  and  upon  that 
day  she  bare  a  son  unto  the  king  of 
Egypt,  and  they  proclaimed  that  the 
king  had  gotten  his  first  born  son  and 
all  the  people  o/"  Egypt  together  with 
the  officers  and  servants  of  Pliaraoh 
rejoiced  greatly. 

16.  And  upon  the  third  day  of  his 
birth  Pharaoh  made  a  feast  for  his 
officers  and  servants,  for  the  hosts  of 


146 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER- 


the  land  of  Zoar  and  of  the  land  of 
Egypt. 

17.  And  all  the  people  of  Egypt 
and  the  servants  of  Pharaoh  came  to 
eat  and  drink  with  the  king  at  the 
feast  of  his  son,  and  to  rejoice  at  the 
king's  rejoicing. 

18.  And  all  the  officers  of  the 
king  and  his  servants  were  rejoic- 
ing at  that  time  for  eight  days  at 
the  feast,  and  they  made  merry  with 
all  sorts  of  musical  instruments,  with 
timbrels  and  with  dances  in  the  king's 
house  for  eight  days. 

19.  And  the  butler,  to  whom  Jo- 
seph had  interpreted  his  dream,  for- 
got Joseph,  and  he  did  not  mention 
him  to  the  king  as  he  had  promised, 
for  this  thing  was  from  the  Lord  in 
order  to  punish  Joseph  because  he 
had  trusted  in  man. 

20.  And  Joseph  remained  after 
this  in  the  prison  house  two  years, 
until  he  had  completed  twelve  years. 

CHAPTER  XLVII. 

1.  And  Isaac  the  son  of  Abraham 
was  still  living  in  those  days  in  the 
land  of  Canaan  ;  he  ivas  very  aged, 
one  hundred  and  eighty  years  old, 
and  Esau  his  son,  the  brother  of  Ja- 
cob, was  in  the  land  of  Edom,  and 
he  and  his  sons  had  possessions  in  it 
amongst  the  children  of  Seir. 

2.  And  Esau  heard  that  his  father's 
time  Avas  drawing  nigh  to  die,  and 
he  and  his  sons  and  household  came 
unto  the  land  of  Canaan,  unto  his 
father's  house,  and  Jacob  and  his 
sons  went  forth  from  the  place  vi^here 
they  dwelt  in  Hebron,  and  they  all 
came  to  their  father  Isaac,  and  they 
found  Esau  and  his  sons  in  the  tent. 

3.  And  Jacob  and  his  sons  sat  be- 
fore his  father  Isaac,  and  Jacob  was 
still  mourning  for  his  son  Joseph. 


4.  And  Isaac  said  unto  Jacob, 
bring  me  hither  thy  sons  and  I  will 
bless  them ;  and  Jacob  brought  his 
eleven  children  before  his  father 
Isaac. 

5.  And  Isaac  placed  his  hands  up- 
on all  the  sons  of  Jacob,  and  he  took 
hold  of  them  and  embraced  them, 
and  kissed  them  one  by  one,  and 
Isaac  blessed  them  on  that  day,  and 
he  said  unto  them,  may  the  God  of 
your  fathers  bless  you  and  increase 
your  seed  like  the  stars  of  heaven  for 
number. 

6.  And  Isaac  also  blessed  the  sons 
of  Esau,  saying,  may  God  cause  you 
to  be  a  dread  and  a  terror  to  all  that 
will  behold  you,  and  to  all  your  ene- 
mies. 

7.  And  Isaac  called  Jacob  and  his 
sons,  and  they  all  came  and  sat  be- 
fore Isaac,  and  Isaac  said  unto  Jacob, 
the  Lord  God  of  the  whole  earth  said 
unto  me,  unto  thy  seed  will  I  give 
this  land  for  an  inheritance  if  thy 
children  keep  my  statutes  and  my 
ways,  and  I  will  perform  unto  them 
the  oath  which  I  swore  unto  thy  fa- 
ther Abraham. 

8.  Now  therefore  my  son,  teach 
thy  children  and  thy  children's  chil- 
dren to  fear  the  Lord,  and  to  go  in 
the  good  way  which  will  please  the 
Lord  thy  God,  for  if  you  keep  the 
ways  of  the  Lord  and  his  statutes  the 
Lord  will  also  keep  unto  you  his  co- 
venant with  Abraham,  and  will  do 
well  with  you  and  your  seed  all  the 
days. 

9.  And  when  Isaac  had  finished 
commanding  Jacob  and  his  children, 
he  gave  up  the  ghost  and  died,  and 
was  gathered  unto  his  people. 

10.  And  Jacob  and  Esau  fell  upon 
the  face  of  their  father  Isaac,  and 
they  wept,  and  Isaac  was  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  years  old  when  he 


THE  BOOK  OP  JASHER. 


147 


died  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  in  He- 
bron, and  his  sons  carried  him  to  the 
cave  of  Machpelah,  which  Abraham 
had  bought  from  the  children  of  Heth 
for  a  possession  of  a  burial  place. 

11.  And  all  the  kings  of  the  land 
of  Canaan  went  with  Jacob  and  Esau 
to  bury  Isaac,  and  all  the  kings  of 
Canaan  showed  Isaac  great  honor  at 
his  death. 

12.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  and  the 
sons  of  Esau  went  barefooted  round 
about,  walking  and  lamenting  until 
they  reached  Kireath-arba. 

13.  And  Jacob  and  Esau  buried 
their  father  Isaac  in  the  cave  of  Mach- 
pelah, which  is  in  Kireath-arba  in 
Hebron,  and  they  buried  him  with  very 
great  honor,  as  at  the  funeral  of  kings. 

14.  And  Jacob  and  his  sons,  and 
Esau  and  his  sons,  and  all  the  kings 
of  Canaan  made  a  great  and  heavy 
mourning,  and  they  buried  him  and 
mourned  for  him  many  days. 

15.  And  at  the  death  of  Isaac,  he 
left  his  cattle  and  his  possessions  and 
all  belonging  to  him  to  his  sons  ;  and 
Esau  said  unto  Jacob,  behold  I  pray 
thee,  all  that  our  father  has  left  we 
will  divide  it  in  two  parts,  and  I  will 
have  the  choice,  and  Jacob  said  we 
will  do  so. 

16.  And  Jacob  took  all  that  Isaac 
had  left  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  the 
cattle  and  the  property,  and  he  placed 
them  in  two  parts  before  Esau  and 
his  sons,  and  he  said  unto  Esau,  be- 
hold all  this  is  before  thee,  choose 
thou  unto  thyself  the  half  which  thou 
wilt  take. 

17.  And  Jacob  said  unto  Esau, 
hear  thou  I  pray  thee  what  I  will 
speak  unto  thee,  saying,  the  Lord 
God  of  heaven  and  earth  spoke  unto 
our  fathers  Abraham  and  Isaac,  say- 
ing, unto  thy  seed  will  I  give  this 
land  for  an  inheritance  forever. 


18.  Now  therefore  all  that  our  fa- 
ther has  left  is  before  liiee,  and  be- 
hold all  the  land  is  before  thee ; 
choose  thou  from  them  what  thou 
desirest. 

19.  If  thou  desirest  the  whole  land 
take  it  for  thee  and  thy  children  for- 
ever, and  I  will  take  tiiis  riches,  and 
if  thou  desirest  the  riches  take  it  unto 
thee,  and  I  will  take  this  land  for  me 
and  for  my  children  to  inherit  it  for- 
ever. 

20.  And  Nebayoth,  the  son  of  Ish- 
mael,  was  then  in  the  land  with  his 
children,  and  Esau  went  on  that  day 
and  consulted  with  him,  saying, 

21.  Thus  has  Jacob  spoken  unto 
me,  and  thus  has  he  answered  me, 
now  give  thy  advice  and  we  will 
hear. 

22.  And  Nebayoth  said,  what  is 
this  that  Jacob  hath  spoken  unto 
thee  ?  behold  all  the  children  of  Ca- 
naan are  dwelling  securely  in  their 
land,  and  Jacob  sayeth  he  will  inhe- 
rit it  with  his  seed  all  the  days. 

23.  Go  now  therefore  and  take  all 
thy  father's  riches  and  leave  Jacob 
thy  brother  in  the  land,  as  he  has 
spoken. 

24.  And  Esau  rose  up  and  return- 
ed to  Jacob,  and  did  all  that  Nebay- 
oth the  son  of  Ishmael  had  advised ; 
and  Esau  took  all  the  riches  that 
Isaac  had  left,  the  souls,  the  beasts, 
the  cattle  and  the  property,  and  all 
the  riches ;  he  gave  nothing  to  his 
brother  Jacob ;  and  Jacob  took  all 
the  land  of  Canaan,  from  the  brook 
of  Egypt  unto  the  river  Euphrates, 
and  he  took  it  for  an  everlasting  pos- 
session, and  for  his  children  and  for 
his  seed  after  him  forever. 

25.  Jacob  also  took  from  his  bro- 
ther Esau  the  cave  of  Machpelah, 
which  is  in  Hebron,  which  Abraham 
had  bought  from   Ephron  for  a  pos- 


148 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


session  of  a  burial  place  for  him  and 
his  seed  for  ever. 

26.  And  Jacob  wrote  all  these 
things  in  the  book  of  purchase,  and 
he  signed  it,  and  he  testified  all  this 
with  four  faithful  witnesses. 

27.  And  these  are  the  words 
which  Jacob  wrote  in  the  book,  say- 
ing :  The  land  of  Canaan  and  all  the 
cities  of  the  Hittites,  the  Hivites,  the 
Jebusites,  tiie  Amorites,  the  Periz- 
zites,  and  the  Gergashites,  all  the 
seven  nations  from  the  river  of  Egypt 
unto  the  river  Euphrates  ; 

28.  And  the  city  of  Hebron  Kire- 
ath-arba  and  the  cave  Avhich  is  in  it, 
the  whole  did  Jacob  buy  from  his 
brother  Esau  for  value,  for  a  posses- 
sion and  for  an  inheritance  for  his 
seed  after  him  forever. 

29.  And  Jacob  took  the  book  of 
purchase  and  the  signature,  the  com- 
mand and  the  statutes  and  the  reveal- 
ed book,  and  he  placed  them  in  an 
earthen  vessel  in  order  that  they 
should  remain  for  a  long  time,  and 
he  delivered  them  into  the  hands  of 
his  children. 

30.  Esau  took  all  that  his  father 
had  left  him  after  his  death  from  his 
brother  Jacob,  and  he  took  all  the 
property,  from  man  and  beast,  camel 
and  ass,  ox  and  lamb,  silver  and 
gold,  stones  and  bdellium,  and  all  the 
riches  which  had  belonged  to  Isaac 
the  son  of  Abraham  ;  there  was  no- 
thing left  which  Esau  did  not  take 
unto  himself,  from  all  that  Isaac  had 
left  after  his  death. 

31.  And  Esau  took  all  this,  and 
he  and  his  children  went  home  to  the 
land  of  Seir  the  Horite,  away  from 
his  brother  Jacob  and  his  children. 

32.  And  Esau  had  possessions 
amongst  the  children  of  Seir,  and 
Esau  returned  not  to  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan from  that  dav  forward. 


33.  And  the  whole  land  of  Ca- 
naan became  an  inheritance  to  the 
children  of  Israel  for  an  everlasting 
inheritance,  and  Esau  with  all  his 
children  inherited  the  mountain  of 
Seir. 

CHAPTER  XLVIIL 

1 .  In  those  days,  after  the  death 
of  Isaac,  the  Lord  commanded  and 
caused  a  famine  upon  the  whole 
earth. 

2.  At  that  time  Pharaoh  king  of 
Egypt  was  sitting  upon  his  throne 
in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  lay  in  his 
bed  and  dreamed  dreams,  and  Pha- 
raoh saw  in  his  dream  that  he  was 
standing  by  the  side  of  the  river  of 

Egypt. 

3.  And  whilst  he  was  standing  he 
saw  and  behold  seven  fat  fleshed 
and  well  favored  kine  came  up  out 
of  the  river. 

4.  And  seven  other  kine,  lean 
fleshed  and  ill  favored,  came  up  after 
them,  and  the  seven  ill  favored  ones 
swallowed  up  the  well  favored  ones, 
and  still  their  appearance  was  ill  as 
at  first. 

5.  And  he  awoke,  and  he  slept 
again  and  he  dreamed  a  second  time, 
and  he  saw  and  behold  seven  ears 
of  corn  came  up  upon  one  stalk,  rank 
and  good,  and  seven  thin  ears  blast- 
ed with  the  east  wind  sprang  up 
after  them,  and  the  thin  ears  swal- 
lowed up  the  full  ones,  and  Pharaoh 
awoke  out  of  his  dream. 

6.  And  in  the  morning  the  king 
remembered  his  dreams,  and  his 
spirit  was  sadly  troubled  on  account 
of  his  dreams,  and  the  king  hastened 
and  sent  and  called  for  all  the  magi- 
cians of  Egypt,  and  the  wise  men, 
and  they  came  and  stood  before  Pha- 
raoh. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


149 


7.  And  the  king  said  unto  them, 
I  have  dreamed  dreams,  and  there  is 
none  to  interpret  them  ;  and  they 
said  unto  the  king,  relate  thy  dreams 
to  tliy  servants  and  let  us  hear  them. 

8.  And  the  king  related  his  dreams 
to  them,  and  they  all  answered  and 
said  with  one  voice  to  the  king,  may 
the  king  live  for  ever ;  and  this  is 
the  interprelalion  of  thy  dreams. 

9.  The  seven  good  kine  wiiich  thou 
didst  see  denote  seven  daughters  that 
will  be  born  unto  thee  in  the  latter 
days,  and  the  seven  kine  which  thou 
sawest  come  up  after  them,  and 
swallowed  them  up,  are  for  a  sign 
that  the  daughters  which  will  be 
born  unto  thee  will  all  die  in  the  life- 
time of  the  king. 

10.  And  that  which  thou  didst  see 
in  the  second  dream  of  seven  full 
and  good  ears  of  corn  coming  up  up- 
on one  stalk,  this  is  their  interpre- 
tation, that  thou  wilt  build  unto  thy- 
self in  the  latter  days  seven  cities 
throughout  the  land  of  Egypt ;  and 
that  which  thou  sawest  of  the  seven 
blasted  ears  of  corn  springing  up 
after  them  and  swallowing  them  up 
whilst  thou  didst  behold  them  with 
thine  eyes,  is  for  a  sign  that  the 
cities  which  thou  wilt  build  will  all 
be  destroyed  in  the  latter  days,  in 
the  life-time  of  the  king. 

1 1 .  And  when  they  spoke  these 
words  the  king  did  not  incline  his 
ear  to  their  words,  neither  did  he  fix 
his  heart  upon  them,  for  the  king 
knew  in  his  wisdom  that  they  did 
not  give  a  proper  interpretation  of 
the  dreams  ;  and  when  they  had 
finished  speaking  before  the  king, 
the  king  ans\vered  them,  saying, 
what  is  this  thing  that  you  have 
spoken  unto  me?  surely  you  have 
uttered  falsehood  and  spoken  lies ; 
therefore  now  give  the  proper  inter- 


pretation of  my  dreams,  that  you 
may  not  die. 

12.  And  the  king  commanded  af- 
ter this,  and  he  sent  and  called  again 
for  other  wise  men,  and  they  came 
and  stood  before  the  king,  and  the 
king  related  his  dreams  to  them,  and 
they  all  answered  him  according  to 
the  first  interpretation,  and  the  king's 
anger  was  kindled  and  he  was  very 
wroth,  and  the  king  said  imlo  them, 
surely  you  speak  lies  and  utter  false- 
hood in  what  you  have  said. 

1.3.  And  the  king  commanded  that 
a  proclamation  should  be  issued 
throughoJit  the  land  of  Egpt,  saying, 
it  is  resolved  by  the  king  and  his 
great  men,  that  any  wise  man  who 
knoweth  and  understandeth  the  in- 
terpretation of  dreams,  and  will  not 
come  this  day  before  the  king,  he 
shall  die. 

14.  And  the  man  that  will  declare 
unto  the  king  the  proper  interpretation 
of  his  dreams,  there  shall  be  given 
unto  him  all  that  he  will  require 
from  the  king.  And  all  the  wise  men 
of  the  land  of  Egypt  came  before  the 
king,  together  wiih  all  the  magicians 
and  sorcerers  that  were  in  Egypt 
and  in  Goshen,  in  Raamses,  in 
Tachpanches,  in  Zoar,  and  in  all  the 
places  on  the  borders  of  Egypt,  and 
they  all  stood  before  the  king. 

15.  And  all  the  nobles  and  the 
princes,  and  the  attendants  belonging 
to  the  king,  came  together  from  all 
the  cities  of  Egypt,  and  they  all  sat 
before  the  king,  and  the  king  related 
his  dreams  before  the  wise  men,  and 
the  princes  and  all  that  sat  before 
the  kinff  were  astonished  at  the  vi- 
sion. 

16.  And  all  the  wise  men  who 
were  before  the  king  were  greatly 
divided  in  their  interpretation  of  his 
dreams  ;    some  of  them  interpreted 


150 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


them  to  the  king,  saying,  the  seven 
good  kine  are  seven  kings,  w^ho  from 
the  king's  issue  will  be  raised  over 
Egypt. 

17.  And  the  seven  bad  kine  are 
seven  princes,  who  will  stand  up 
against  them  in  the  latter  days  and 
destroy  them  ;  and  the  seven  ears  of 
corn  are  the  seven  great  princes  be- 
longing to  Egypt,  who  will  fall  in 
the  hands  of  the  seven  less  powerful 
princes  of  their  enemies,  in  the  wars 
of  our  lord  the  king. 

1 8.  And  some  of  them  interpreted 
to  the  king  in  this  manner,  saying, 
the  seven  good  kine  are  the  strong 
cities  of  Egypt,  and  the  seven  bad 
kine  are  the  seven  nations  of  the 
land  of  Canaan,  who  will  come  against 
the  seven  cities  of  Egypt  in  the  lat- 
ter days  and  destroy  them. 

19.  And  that  which  thou  sawest 
in  the  second  dream,  of  seven  good 
and  bad  ears  of  corn,  is  a  sign  that 
the  government  of  Egypt  will  again 
return  to  thy  seed  as  at  first. 

20.  And  in  his  reign  the  people  of 
the  cities  of  Egypt  will  turn  against 
the  seven  cities  of  Canaan  who  are 
stronger  than  they  are,  and  will  de- 
stroy them,  and  the  government  of 
Egypt  will  return  to  thy  seed. 

21.  And  some  of  tliem  said  unto 
the  king,  this  is  the  interptetation  of 
thy  dreams  ;  the  seven  good  kine  are 
seven  queens,  whom  thou  wilt  take  for 
wives  in  the  latter  days,  and  the  seven 
bad  kine  denote  that  those  women  will 
all  die  in  the  lifetime  of  the  king. 

22.  And  the  seven  good  and  bad 
ears  of  corn  which  thou  didst  see  in 
the  second  dream  are  fourteen  chil- 
dren, and  it  will  be  in  the  latter  days 
that  they  will  stand  up  and  fight 
amongst  themselves,  and  seven  of 
them  will  smite  the  seven  that  are 
more  powerful. 


23.  And  some  of  them  said  these 
words  unto  the  king,  saying,  the  se- 
ven good  kine  denote  that  seven  chil- 
dren will  be  born  to  thee,  and  they 
will  slay  seven  of  thy  children's  chil- 
dren in  the  latter  days  ;  and  the  se- 
ven good  ears  of  corn  which  thou 
didst  see  in  the  second  dream,  are 
those  princes  against  whom  seven 
other  less  powerful  princes  will  fight 
and  destroy  them  in  the  latter  days, 
and  avenge  thy  children's  cause,  and 
the  government  will  again  return  to 
thy  seed. 

24.  And  the  king  heard  all  the 
words  of  the  wise  men  of  Egypt  and 
their  interpretation  of  his  dreams, 
and  none  of  them  pleased  the  king. 

25.  And  the  king  knew  in  his  wis- 
dom that  they  did  not  altogether 
speak  correctly  in  all  these  words, 
for  this  was  from  the  Lord  to  frus- 
trate the  words  of  the  wise  men  of 
Egypt,  in  order  that  Joseph  might  go 
forth  from  the  house  of  confinement, 
and  in  order  that  he  should  become 
great  in  Egypt. 

26.  And  the  king  saw  that  none 
amongst  all  the  wise  men  and  magi- 
cians of  Egypt  spoke  correctly  to 
him,  and  the  king's  wrath  was  kin- 
dled, and  his  anger  burned  within  him. 

27.  And  the  king  commanded  that 
alltlie  wise  men  and  magicians  should 
go  out  from  before  him,  and  they  all 
went  out  from  before  the  king  with 
shame  and  disgrace. 

28.  And  the  king  commanded  that 
a  proclamation  be  sent  throughout 
Egypt  to  slay  all  the  magicians  that 
were  in  Egypt,  and  not  one  of  them 
should  be  suffered  to  live. 

29.  And  the  captains  of  the  guards 
belonging  to  the  king  rose  up,  and 
each  man  drew  his  sword,  and  they 
began  to  smite  the  magicians  of 
Egypt,  and  the  wise  men. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


151 


30.  And  after  this  Merod,  chief 
butler  to  the  king,  came  and  bowed 
down  before  the  king  and  sat  before 
him  ; 

31.  And  the  butler  said  inito  the 
king,  may  the  king  live  forever,  and 
his  government  be  exalted  in  the  land. 

32.  Thou  wast  angry  with  thy 
servant  in  those  days,  now  two  years 
past,  and  didst  place  me  in  the  ward, 
and  I  was  for  some  time  in  the  ward, 
I  and  the  chief  of  the  bakers. 

33.  And  there  was  with  us  a  He- 
brew servant  belonging  to  the  cap- 
tain of  the  guard,  his  name  was  Jo- 
seph, for  his  master  had  been  angry 
with  him  and  placed  him  in  the  house 
of  confinement,  and  he  attended  us 
there. 

34.  And  in  some  time  after  when 
we  were  in  the  ward,  we  dreamed 
dreams  in  one  night,  I  and  the  chief 
of  the  bakers  ;  we  dreamed,  each 
man  according  to  the  interpretation 
of  his  dream. 

35.  And  we  came  in  the  morning 
and  told  thein  to  that  servant,  and  he 
interpreted  to  us  our  dreams,  to  each 
man  according  to  his  dream,  did  he 
correctly  interpret. 

36.  And  it  came  to  pass  as  he  in- 
terpreted to  us,  so  was  the  event ; 
there  fell  not  to  the  ground  any  of 
his  words. 

37.  And  now  therefore  my  lord 
and  king  do  not  slay  the  people  of 
Egypt  for  naught ;  behold  that  slave 
is  still  confined  in  the  house  by  the 
captain  of  the  guard  his  master,  in 
the  house  of  confinement. 

38.  If  it  pleaseth  the  king  let  him 
send  for  him  that  he  may  come  be- 
fore thee  and  he  will  make  known  to 
thee,  the  correct  interpretation  of  the 
dream  which  thou  didst  dream. 

39.  And  the  king  heard  the  words 
of  the  chief  butler,  and  the  king  or- 


dered that  the  wise  men  of  Egypt 
shoidd  not  be  slain. 

40.  And  the  king  ordered  his  ser- 
vants to  bring  Joseph  before  him,  and 
the  king  said  unto  them,  go  to  him 
and  do  not  terrify  him  lest  he  be  con- 
fused and  will  not  know  to  speak  pro- 
perly. 

41.  And  the  servants  of  the  king 
went  to  Joseph,  and  they  brought 
him  hastily  out  of  the  dungeon,  and 
the  king's  servants  shaved  him,  and 
he  changed  his  prison  garment  and 
he  came  before  the  king. 

42.  And  the  king  was  sitting  upon 
his  royal  throne  in  a  princely  dress 
girt  round  with  a  golden  ephod,  and 
tlie  fine  gold  which  was  upon  it 
sparkled,  and  the  carbuncle  and  the 
ruby  and  the  emerald,  together  with 
all  the  precious  stones  that  were  upon 
the  king's  head,  dazzled  the  eye,  and 
Joseph  wondered  greatly  at  the  king. 

43.  And  the  throne  upon  which 
the  king  sat  was  covered  with  gold 
and  silver,  and  with  onyx  stones,  and 
it  had  seventy  steps. 

44.  And  it  was  their  custom 
throughout  the  land  of  Egypt,  that 
every  man  who  came  to  speak  to  the 
king,  if  he  was  a  prince  or  one  that 
was  estimable  in  the  sight  of  the 
king,  he  ascended  to  the  king's 
throne  as  far  as  the  thirty  first  step, 
and  the  king  would  descend  to  the 
thirty  sixth  step,  and  speak  with  him. 

45.  If  he  was  one  of  the  common 
people,  he  ascended  to  the  third  step, 
and  the  king  would  descend  to  the 
fourth*  and  speak  to  him,  and  their 
custom  was.  moreover,  that  any  man 
who  understood  to  speak  in  all  the 
seventy  languages,  he  ascended  the 

*  From  his  throne,  leavincr  in  this  instance  a 
space  of  sixty  three  steps,  but  in  the  former 
there  was  only  the  space  of  three  steps  inter- 
vening between  the  king  and  his  favorites. 


152 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


seventy   steps,    and    went    up    and 
spoke  till  he  reached  the  king. 

46.  And  any  man  who  could  not 
complete  the  seventy,  he  ascended 
as  many  steps  as  the  languages  which 
he  knew  to  speak  m, 

47.  And  it  was  customary  in  those 
days  in  Egypt  that  no  one  should 
reign  over  them,  but  who  understood 
to  speak  in  the  seventy  languages. 

48.  And  when  Joseph  came  before 
the  king  he  bowed  down  to  the 
ground  before  the  king,  and  he  as- 
cended to  the  third  step,  and  the 
king  sat  upon  the  fourth  step  and 
spoke  with  Joseph. 

49.  And  the  king  said  unto  Joseph, 
T  dreamed  a  dream,  and  there  is  no 
interpreter  to  interpret  it  properly, 
and  I  commanded  this  day  that  all 
the  magicians  of  Egypt  and  the  wise 
men  thereof,  should  come  before  me, 
and  I  related  my  dreams  to  them, 
and  no  one  has  properly  interpreted 
them  to  me. 

50.  And  after  this  I  this  day  heard 
concerning  thee,  that  thou  art  a  wise 
man,  and  canst  correctly  interpret 
every  dream  that  thou  hearest. 

51.  And  Joseph  answered  Pha- 
raoh, saying,  let  Pharoah  relate  his 
dreams  that  he  dreamed ;  surely  the 
interpretations  belong  to  God ;  and 
Pharaoh  related  his  dreams  to  Joseph, 
the  dream  of  the  kine,  and  the  dream 
of  the  ears  of  corn,  and  the  king  left 
otf  speaking. 

52.  And  Joseph  was  then  clothed 
with  the  spirit  of  God  before  the 
king,  and  he  knew  all  the  things  that 
would  befall  the  king  from  that  day 
forward,  and  he  knew  the  proper 
interpretation  of  the  king's  dream, 
and  he  spoke  before  the  king. 

53.  And  Joseph  found  favor  in 
the  sight  of  the  king,  and  the  king 
inclined  his  ears  and  his  heart,  and 


he  heard  all  the  words  of  Joseph. 
And  Joseph  said  unto  the  king,  do 
not  imagine  that  they  are  two  dreams, 
for  it  is  only  one  dream,  for  that 
which  God  has  chosen  to  do  through- 
out the  land  he  has  shown  to  the 
king  in  his  dream,  and  this  is  the 
proper  interpretation  of  thy  dream. 

54.  The  seven  good  kine  and  ears 
of  corn  are  seven  years,  and  the 
seven  bad  kine  and  ears  of  corn  are 
also  seven  years  ;  it  is  one  dream. 

55.  Behold  the  seven  years  that 
are  coming  there  will  be  a  great 
plenty  throughout  the  land,  and  after 
that  the  seven  years  of  famine  will 
follow  them,  a  very  grievous  famine, 
and  all  the  plenty  will  be  forgotten 
from  the  land,  and  "the  famine  will  con- 
sume all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land. 

56.  The  king  dreamed  one  dream, 
and  the  dream  was  therefore  repeated 
unto  Pharaoh  because  the  thing  is 
established  by  God,  and  God  will 
shortly  bring  it  to  pass. 

57.  Now  tlierefo7-e  I  will  give 
thee  counsel  and  deliver  thy  soul 
and  the  souls  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  land  from  the  evil  of  the  famine, 
that  thou  seek  throughout  thy  king- 
dom for  a  man  very  discreet  and 
wise,  who  knoweth  all  the  affairs  of 
government,  and  appoint  him  to 
superintend*  over  the  land  of  Egypt. 

58.  And  let  the  man  whom  thou 
placcst  over  Egypt  appoint  officers 
under  him,  that  they  gather  in  all  the 
food  of  the  good  years  that  are  com- 
ing, and  let  them  lay  up  com  and 
deposit  it  in  thy  appointed  stores. 

59.  And  let  them  keep  that  food 
for  the  seven  years  of  famine,  that  it 
maybe  found  for  thee  and  thy  people 
and  thy  whole  land,  and  tliat  thou 
and  thy  land  be  not  cut  off  by  the 
famine. 

*  Hebrew,  to  go  out  and  come  in. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHEK. 


153 


60.  Let  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land  be  also  ordered  that  they  gather 
in,  every  man  the  produce  of  his 
field,  of  all  sorts  of  food,  during  the 
seven  good  years,  and  that  they  place 
it  in  their  stores,  that  it  may  be 
found  for  them  in  the  days  of  the 
famine  and  that  they  may  live  upon 
it. 

61.  This  is  the  proper  interpreta- 
tion of  thy  dream,  and  this  is  the 
counsel  given  to  save  thy  soul  and 
the  souls  of  all  thy  subjects. 

62.  And  the  king  answered  and 
said  unto  Joseph,  who  sayeth  and 
who  knoweth  that  thy  words  are 
correct  ?  And  he  said  unto  the  king, 
this  shall  be  a  sign  for  thee  respect- 
ing all  my  words,  that  they  are  true 
and  that  my  advice  is  good  for  thee. 

63.  Behold  thy  wife  sitteth  this 
day  upon  the  stool  of  delivery,  and 
she  will  bear  thee  a  son  and  thou 
wilt  rejoice  with  him ;  when  thy 
child  shall  have  gone  forth  from  his 
mother's  womb,  thy  first  born  son 
that  has  been  born  these  two  years 
back  shall  die,  and  thou  wilt  be 
comforted  in  the  child  that  will  be 
born  unto  thee  this  day. 

64.  And  Joseph  finished  speaking 
these  words  to  the  king,  and  he 
bowed  down  to  the  king  and  he  went 
out,  and  when  Joseph  had  gone  out 
from  the  king's  presence,  those  signs 
which  Joseph  had  spoken  unto  the 
king  came  to  pass  on  that  day. 

65.  And  the  queen  bare  a  son  on 
that  day  and  the  king  heard  the  glad 
tidings  about  his  son,  and  he  rejoiced, 
and  when  the  reporter  had  gone  forth 
from  the  king's  presence,  the  king's 
servants  found  the  first  born  son  of 
the  king  fallen  dead  upon  the  ground. 

66.  And  there  was  great  lamenta- 
tion and  noise  in  the  king's  house, 
and  the  king  heard  it,  and  he  said, 


what  is  the  noise  and  lamentation 
that  I  have  heard  in  the  house  ?  and 
they  told  the  king  tliat  his  first  born 
son  had  died  ;  then  the  king  knew 
that  all  Josepii's  words  that  he  had 
spoken  were  correct,  and  the  king 
was  consoled  for  his  son  by  the 
child  that  w^as  born  to  him  on  that 
day  as  Joseph  had  spoken. 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 

1 .  After  these  things  the  king 
sent  and  assembled  all  his  officers 
and  servants,  and  all  the  princes  and 
nobles  belonging  to  the  king,  and 
they  all  came  before  the  king. 

2.  And  the  king  said  unlo  them, 
behold  you  have  seen  and  heard  all 
the  words  of  this  Hebrew  man,  and 
all  the  signs  which  he  declared 
would  come  to  pass,  and  not  any  of 
his  words  have  fallen  to  the  ground. 

3.  You  know  that  he  has  given 
a  proper  interpretation  of  the  dream, 
and  it  will  surely  come  to  pass,  now 
therefore  take  counsel  and  know 
what  you  will  do  and  how  ihe  land 
will  be  delivered  from  the  famine. 

4.  Seek  now  and  see  whether  the 
like  can  be  found  in  whose  heart 
there  is  wisdom  and  knowledge,  and 
I  will  appoint  him  over  the  land. 

5.  For  you  have  heard  what  the 
Hebrew  man  has  advised  concerning 
this  to  save  the  land  therewith  from 
the  famine,  and  I  know  that  the  land 
will  not  be  delivered  from  the  famine 
but  with  the  advice  of  the  Hebrew 
man,  him  that  advised  me. 

6.  And  they  all  answered  the  king 
and  said,  the  counsel  which  the  He- 
brew has  given  concerning  this  is 
good ;  now  therefore,  our  lord  and 
king,  behold  the  whole  land  is  in  thy 
hand,  do  that  which  scemeth  good  in 
thy  sight. 


154 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


7.  Him  whom  thou  choosest,  and 
whom  thou  in  thy  wisdom  knowest 
to  be  wise  and  capable  of  dehvering 
the  land  with  his  wisdom,  him  shall 
the  king  appoint  to  be  under  him 
over  the  land. 

8.  And  the  king  said  to  all  the  of- 
ficers, I  have  thought  that  since  God 
has  made  known  to  the  Hebrew  man 
all  that  he  has  spoken,  there  is  none 
so  discreet  and  wise  in  the  whole 
land  as  he  is  ;  if  it  seem  good  in  your 
sight  I  will  place  him  over  the  land, 
for  he  will  save  the  land  with  his 
wisdom. 

9.  And  all  the  officers  answered 
the  king  and  said,  but  surely  it  is 
written  in  the  laws  of  Egypt,  and  it 
should  not  be  violated,  that  no  man 
shall  reign  over  Egypt,  nor  be  the 
second  to  the  king,  but  one  who  has 
knowledge  in  all  the  languages  of  the 
sons  of  men. 

10.  Now  therefore  our  lord  and 
king,  behold  this  Hebrew  man  can 
only  speak  the  Hebrew  language, 
and  how  then  can  he  be  over  us  the 
second  under  government,  a  man 
who  not  even  knoweth  our  language' 

11.  Now  we  pray  thee  send  for 
him,  and  let  him  come  before  thee, 
and  prove  him  in  all  things,  and  do 
as  thou  seest^^ 

12.  And  the  king  said,  it  shall  be 
done  so  to-morrow,  and  the  thing 
that  you  have  spoken  is  good  ;  and 
all  the  officers  came  on  that  day  be- 
fore the  king. 

13.  And  on  that  night  the  Lord 
sent  one  of  his  ministering  angels, 
and  he  came  unto  the  land  of  Egypt 
unto  Joseph,  and  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  stood  over  Joseph,  and  behold 
Joseph  was  lying  in  the  bed  at  night 
in  his  master's  house  in  the  dungeon, 
for  his  master  had  put  him  back  into 
the  dungeon  on  account  of  his  wife. 


14.  And  the  angel  roused  him  from 
his  sleep,  and  Joseph  rose  up  and 
stood  upon  his  legs,  and  behold  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  was  standing  op- 
posite to  him  ;  and  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  spoke  with  Joseph,  and  he 
taught  him  all  the  languages  of  man 
in  ihat  night,  and  he  called  his  name 
Jehoseph. 

15.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
went  from  him,  and  Joseph  returned 
and  lay  upon  his  bed,  and  Joseph 
was  astonished  at  the  vision  which 
he  saw. 

16.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the 
morning  that  the  king  sent  for  all  his 
officers  and  servants,  and  they  all 
came  and  sat  before  the  king,  and  the 
king  ordered  Joseph  to  be  brought, 
and  the  king's  servants  went  and 
brought  Joseph  before  Pharaoh. 

17.  And  the  king  came  forth  and 
ascended  the  steps  of  the  throne,  and 
Joseph  spoke  unto  the  king  in  all 
languages,  and  Joseph  went  up  to 
him  and  spoke  unto  the  king  until 
he  arrived  before  the  king  in  the  se- 
ventieth step,  and  he  sat  before  the 
king. 

18.  And  the  king  greatly  rejoiced 
on  account  of  Joseph,  and  all  the 
king's  officers  rejoiced  greatly  with 
the  king  when  they  heard  all  the 
words  of  Joseph. 

19.  And  the  thing  seemed  good  in 
the  sight  of  the  king  and  the  officers, 
to  appoint  Joseph  to  be  second  to  the 
king  over  the  whole  land  of  Egypt, 
and  the  king  spoke  to  Joseph,  say- 
ing' 

20.  Now  thou  didst  give  me  coun- 
sel to  appoint  a  wise  man  over  the 
land  of  Egypt,  in  order  with  his  wis- 
dom to  save  the  land  from  the  famine  ; 
now  therefore,  since  God  has  made 
all  this  known  to  thee,  and  all  the 
words  which  thou  hast  spoken,  there 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER 


155 


is  not  throughout  the  land  a  discreet 
and  wise  man  Hke  unto  thee. 

21.  And  thy  name  no  more  shall 
be  called  Joseph,  but  Zaphnalh  Paa- 
neah  shall  be  thy  name ;  thou  shalt 
be  second  to  me,  and  according  to 
thy  word  shall  be  all  the  affairs  of 
my  government,  and  at  thy  word 
shall  my  people  go  out  and  come 
in. 

22.  Also  from  under  thy  hand  shall 
my  servants  and  officers  receive  their 
salary  which  is  given  to  them  month- 
ly, and  to  thee  sliall  all  the  people  of 
the  land  bow  down ;  only  in  my 
throne  will  I  be  greater  than  thou. 

23.  And  the  king  took  off  his  ring 
from  his  hand  and  put  it  upon  the 
hand  of  Joseph,  and  the  king  dressed 
Joseph  in  a  princely  garment,  and 
he  put  a  golden  crown  upon  his  head, 
and  he  put  a  golden  chain  upon  his 
neck. 

24.  And  the  king  commanded  his 
servants,  and  they  made  him  ride  in 
the  second  chariot  belonging  to  the 
king,  that  went  opposite  to  the  king's 
chariot,  and  he  caused  him  to  ride 
upon  a  great  and  strong  horse  from 
the  king's  horses,  and  to  be  conduct- 
ed through  the  streets  of  the  land  of 
Egypt. 

25.  And  the  king  commanded  that 
all  those  that  played  upon  timbrels, 
harps  and  other  musical  instruments 
should  go  forth  with  Joseph ;  one 
thousand  timbrels,  one  thousand  Me- 
choloth,  and  one  thousand  Nebalim 
went  after  him. 

26.  And  five  thousand  men,  with 
drawn  swords  glittering  in  their 
hands,  and  they  went  marching  and 
playing  before  Joseph,  and  twenty 
thousand  of  the  great  men  of  the  king 
girt  with  girdles  of  skin  covered  with 
gold,  marched  at  the  right  hand  of 
Joseph,  and  twenty  thousand  at  his 


left,  and  all  the  women  and  damsels 
went  upon  the  roofs  or  stood  in  the 
streets  playing  and  rejoicing  at  Jo- 
seph, and  gazed  at  the  appearance 
of  Joseph  and  at  his  beauty. 

27.  And  the  king's  people  went 
before  him  and  behind  him,  perfum- 
ing the  road  with  frankincense  and 
with  cassia,  and  with  all  sorts  of  fine 
perfume,  and  scattered  myrrh  and 
aloes  along  tiie  road,  and  twenty  men 
proclaimed  these  words  before  him 
throughout  the  land  in  a  loud  voice ; 

28.  Do  you  see  this  man  whom 
the  king  has  chosen  to  be  his  second? 
all  the  affairs  of  government  shall  be 
regulated  by  him,  and  he  that  trans- 
gresses his  orders,  or  that  does  not 
bow  down  before  him  to  the  ground, 
shall  die,  for  he  rebels  against  the 
king  and  his  second. 

29.  And  when  the  heralds  had 
ceased  proclaiming,  all  the  people  of 
Egypt  bowed  down  to  the  ground 
before  Joseph  and  said,  may  the 
king  live,  also  may  his  second  live  ; 
and  all  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt  bow- 
ed down  along  the  road,  and  when 
the  heralds  approached  them,  they 
bowed  down,  and  they  rejoiced  with 
all  sorts  of  timbrels,  mechol  and  ne- 
bal  before  Joseph. 

30.  And  Josepii  upon  his  horse 
lifted  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  and 
called  out  and  said,  He  raiseth  the 
poor  man  from  the  dust,  He  lifteth 
up  the  needy  from  the  dunghill.  O 
Lord  of  hosts,  happy  is  the  man  who 
trusteth  in  thee. 

31.  And  Joseph  passed  through- 
out the  land  of  Egypt  with  Pharaoh's 
servants  and  officers,  and  they  show- 
ed him  the  whole  land  of  Egypt  and 
all  the  king's  treasures. 

32.  And  Joseph  returned  and 
came  on  that  day  before  Pharaoh, 
and  the  king   gave  unto   Joseph  a 


156 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


possession  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  a 
possession  of  fields  and  vineyards, 
and  the  king  gave  unto  Joseph  three 
thousand  talents  of  silver  and  one 
thousand  talents  of  gold,  and  onyx 
stones  and  bdellium  and  many 
gifts. 

33.  And  on  the  next  day  the  king 
commanded  all  the  people  of  Egypt 
to  bring  unto  Joseph  offerings  and 
gifts,  and  that  he  that  violated  the 
command  of  the  king  should  die  ; 
and  they  made  a  high  place  in 
the  street  of  the  cily,  and  they 
spread  out  garments  there,  and  who- 
ever brought  anything  to  Joseph  put 
it  into  the  high  place. 

34.  And  all  the  people  of  Egypt 
cast  something  into  the  high  place, 
one  man  a  golden  ear-ring,  and  the 
other  rings  and  ear-rings,  and  ditfer- 
ent  vessels  of  gold  and  silver  work, 
and  onyx  stones  and  bdellium  did  he 
cast  upon  the  high  place  ;  every  one 
gave  something  of  what  he  possessed. 

35.  And  Joseph  took  all  these 
and  placed  them  in  his  treasures, 
and  all  the  officers  and  nobles  belong- 
ing to  the  king  exalted  Joseph,  and 
they  gave  him  many  gifts,  seeing 
that  the  king  had  chosen  him  to  be 
his  second. 

36.  And  the  king  sent  to  Poti- 
phera,  the  son  of  Ahiram  priest  of 
On,  and  he  took  his  young  daughter 
Osnath  and  gave  her  unto  Joseph  for 
a  wife. 

37.  And  the  damsel  was  very 
comely,  a  virgin,  one  whom  man  had 
not  known,  and  Joseph  took  her  for 
a  wife ;  and  the  king  said  unto 
Joseph,  I  am  Pharaoh,  and  beside 
thee  none  shall  dare  to  lift  up  his 
hand  Oi  his  foot  to  regulate*  my 
people  throughout  the  land  of  Egypt. 

38.  And  Joseph  was  thirty  years 
*  Hebrew,  to  go  out  and  come  in. 


old  when  he  stood  before  Pharaoh, 
and  Joseph  went  out  from  before  the 
king,  and  he  became  the  king's  se- 
cond in  Egypt. 

39.  And  the  king  gave  Joseph  a 
hundred  servants  to  attend  him  in 
his  house,  and  Joseph  also  sent  and 
purchased  many  servants  and  they 
remained  in  the  house  of  Joseph. 

40.  Joseph  then  built  for  himself 
a  very  magnificent  house  like  unto 
the  houses  of  kings,  before  the  court 
of  the  king's  palace,  and  he  made  in 
the  house  a  large  temple,  very  ele- 
gant in  appearance  and  convenient 
for  his  residence ;  three  years  was 
Joseph  in  erecting  his  house. 

41.  And  Joseph  made  mito  him- 
self a  very  elegant  throne  of  abun- 
dance of  gold  and  silver,  and  he 
covered  it  with  onyx  stones  and 
bdclhum,  and  he  made  upon  it  the 
likeness  of  the  whole  land  of  Egypt, 
and  the  likeness  of  the  river  of 
Egypt  that  watereth  the  whole  land 
of  Egypt ;  and  Joseph  sat  securely 
upon  his  throne  in  his  house  and  the 
Lord   increased  Joseph's  wisdom. 

42.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Egypt  and  Pharaoh's  servants  and 
his  princes  loved  Joseph  exceeding- 
ly, for  this  thing  was  from  the  Lord 
to  Joseph. 

43.  And  Joseph  had  an  army  that 
made  war,  going  out  in  hosts  and 
troops  to  the  number  of  forty  thou- 
sand six  hundred  men,  capable  of 
bearing  arms  to  assist  the  king  and 
Joseph  against  the  enemy,  besides 
the  king's  officers  and  his  servants 
and  inhabitants  of  Egypt  without 
number. 

44.  And  Joseph  gave  unto  his 
mighty  men,  and  to  all  his  host, 
shields  and  javelins,  and  caps  and 
coats  of  mail  and  stones  for  sling- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


157 


CHAPTER  L. 

1.  At  that  time  the  children  of 
Tarshish  came  against  the  sons 
of  Ishmael,  and  made  war  with 
them,  and  the  children  of  Tarshish 
spoiled  the  Ishmaelites  for  a  long 
time. 

2.  And  the  children  of  Ishmael 
were  small  in  number  in  those  days, 
and  they  could  not  prevail  over  the 
children  of  Tarshish,  and  they  were 
sorely  oppressed. 

3.  And  the  old  men  of  the  Ish- 
maelites sent  a  record  to  the  king 
of  Egypt,  saying,  send  I  pray  thee 
unto  thy  servants  officers  and  hosts 
to  help  us  to  fight  against  the  child- 
ren of  Tarshish,  for  we  have  been 
consuming  away  for  a  long  time. 

4.  And  Pharaoh  sent  Joseph  with 
the  mighty  men  and  host  which 
w^ere  with  him,  and  also  his  mighty 
men  from  the  king's  house. 

5.  And  they  went  to  the  land  of 
Havilah  to  the  children  of  Ishmael, 
to  assist  them  against  the  children  of 
Tarshish,  and  the  children  of  Ishmael 
fought  with  the  children  of  Tarshish, 
and  Joseph  smote  the  Tarshishites 
and  he  subdued  all  their  land,  and 
the  children  of  Ishmael  dwelt  there- 
in unto  this  day. 

6.  And  when  the  land  of  Tarshish 
was  subdued,  all  the  Tarshishites 
ran  away  and  came  on  the  border  of 
their  brethren  the  children  of  Javan, 
and  Joseph  with  all  his  mighty  men 
and  host  returned  to  Egypt,  not  one 
man  of  them  was  missing. 

7.  And  at  the  revolution  of  the 
year,  in  the  second  year  of  Joseph's 
reigning  over  Egypt,  the  Lord  gave 
great  plenty  throughout  the  land  for 
seven  years  as  Joseph  had  spoken, 
for  the  Lord  blessed  all  the  produce 
of  the  earth  in  those  days  for  seven 


years,  and  they  ate  and  were  greatly 
satisfied. 

8.  And  Joseph  at  that  time  had 
officers  under  him,  and  they  collected 
all  the  food  of  the  good  years,  and 
heaped  corn  year  by  year,  and  they 
placed  it  in  the  treasuries  of  Joseph. 

9.  And  at  any  lime  when  they 
gathered  the  food  Joseph  command- 
ed that  they  should  bring  the  corn 
in  the  ears,  and  also  bring  with  it 
some  of  the  soil  of  the  field,  that  it 
should  not  spoil. 

10.  And  Joseph  did  according  to 
this  year  by  year,  and  lie  heaped  up 
corn  like  the  sand  of  the  sea  for 
abundance,  for  his  stores  were  im- 
mense and  could  not  be  numbered 
for  abundance. 

11.  And  also  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Egypt  gathered  all  sorts  of  food  in 
their  stores  in  great  abundance 
during  the  seven  good  years,  but 
they  did  not  do  unto  it  as  Joseph  did. 

12.  And  all  the  food  which  Joseph 
and  the  Egyptians  had  gathered  dur- 
ing the  seven  years  of  plenty,  was 
secured  for  the  land  in  stores  for  the 
seven  years  of  famine,  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  whole  land. 

13.  And  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt 
filled  each  man  his  store  and  his 
concealed  place  with  corn,  to  be  for 
support  during  the  famine. 

14.  And  Joseph  placed  all  the 
food  that  he  had  gathered  in  all  the 
cities  of  Egypt,  and  he  closed  all  the 
stores  and  placed  sentinels  over 
them. 

15.  And  Joseph's  wife  Osnath  the 
daughter  of  Potiphera  bare  him  two 
sons,  Manasseh  and  Ephraim,  and 
Joseph  was  thirty  four  years  old 
when  he  begat  them. 

16.  And  the  lads  grew  up  and 
they  went  in  his  ways  and  in  his  in- 
structions, they  did  not  deviate  from 


158 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


the  way  which  their  father  taught 
them,  either  to  the  right  or  left. 

17.  And  the  Lord  was  with  the 
lads,  and  they  grew  up  and  had  un- 
derstanding and  skill  in  all  wisdom 
and  in  all  the  affairs  of  government, 
and  all  the  king's  officers  and  his 
great  men  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Egypt  exalted  the  lads,  and  they 
were  brought  up  amongst  the  king's 
children. 

18.  And  the  seven  years  of  plenty 
that  were  throughout  the  land  were 
at  an  end,  and  the  seven  years  of 
famine  came  after  them  as  Joseph 
had  spoken,  and  the  famine  was 
throughout  the  land. 

19.  And  all  the  people  of 'Egypi 
saw  that  the  famine  had  commenced 
in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  all  the 
people  of  Egypt  opened  their  stores 
of  corn  for  the  famine  prevailed  over 
them. 

20.  And  they  found  all  the  food 
that  was  in  their  stores,  full  of  ver- 
min and  not  fit  to  eat,  and  the  fa- 
mine prevailed  throughout  the  land, 
and  all  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt  came 
and  cried  before  Pharaoh,  for  the  fa- 
mine was  heavy  upon  them. 

21.  And  they  said  unto  Pharaoh, 
give  food  unto  thy  servants,  and 
wherefore  shall  we  die  through  hun- 
ger before  thy  eyes,  even  we  and 
our  little  ones  ? 

22.  And  Pharaoh  answered  them, 
saying,  and  wherefore  do  you  cry 
unto  me  ?  did  not  Joseph  command 
that  the  corn  should  be  laid  up  dur- 
ing the  seven  years  of  plenty  for  the 
years  of  famine?  and  wherefore  did 
you  not  hearken  to  his  voice  ? 

23.  And  the  people  of  Egypt  an- 
swered the  king,  saying,  as  thy  soul 
liveth,  our  lord,  thy  servants  have 
done  all  that  Joseph  ordered,  for  thy 
servants  also  gathered  in  all  the  pro- 


duce of  their  fields  during  the  seven 
years  of  plenty  and  laid  it  in  the 
stores  unto  this  day. 

24.  And  when  the  famine  prevailed 
over  thy  servants  we  opened  our 
stores,  and  behold  all  our  produce  was 
filled  with  vermin  and  was  not  fit  for 
food. 

25.  And  when  the  king  heard  all 
that  had  befallen  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Egypt,  the  king  was  greatly  afraid 
on  account  of  the  famine,  and  he  was 
much  terrified  ;  and  the  king  an- 
swered the  people  of  Egypt,  saying, 
since  all  this  has  happened  unto  you, 
go  unto  Joseph,  do  whatever  he  shall 
say  unto  you,  transgress  not  his  com- 
mands. 

26.  And  all  the  people  of  Egypt 
went  forth  and  came  unto  Joseph, 
and  said  unto  him,  give  unto  us  food 
and  wherefore  shall  we  die  before 
thee  through  hunger  ?  for  we  gath- 
ered in  our  produce  during  the  seven 
years  as  thou  didst  command,  and 
we  put  il  in  store,  and  thus  has  it 
befallen  us. 

27.  And  when  Joseph  heard  all 
the  words  of  the  people  of  Egypt 
and  what  had  befallen  them,  Joseph 
opened  all  his  stores  of  the  produce 
and  he    sold  it  unto  the  people  of 

Egypt. 

28.  And  the  famine  prevailed 
throughout  the  land,  and  the  famine 
was  in  all  countries,  but  in  the  land 
of  Egypt  there  was  produce  for  sale. 

29.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Egypt  came  unto  Joseph  to  buy 
corn,  for  the  famine  prevailed  over 
them,  and  all  their  corn  was  spoiled, 
and  Joseph  daily  sold  it  to  all  the 
people  of  Egypt. 

30.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land  of  Canaan  and  the  Philistines, 
and  those  beyond  the  Jordan,  and  the 
children  of  the  east  and  all  the  cities 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


159 


of  the  lands  far  and  nigh  heard  that 
there  was  corn  in  Egypt,  and  they 
all  came  to  Egypt  to  buy  corn,  for 
tiie  famine  prevailed  over  them. 

31.  And  Joseph  opened  the  stores 
of  corn  and  placed  officers  over  them, 
and  they  daily  stood  and  sold  to  all 
that  came. 

32.  And  Joseph  knew  that  his 
brethren  also  would  come  to  Egypt 
to  buy  corn,  for  the  famine  prevailed 
throughout  the  earth.  And  Joseph 
commanded  all  his  people  that  they 
should  cause  it  to  be  proclaimed 
throughout  the  land  of  Egypt,  saying, 

33.  It  is  the  pleasure  of  the  king, 
of  his  second  and  of  their  great  men, 
that  any  person  who  wishes  to  buy 
corn  in  Egypt  shall  not  send  his  ser- 
vants to  Egypt  to  purchase,  but  his 
sons,  and  also  any  Egyptian  or  Ca- 
naanite,  who  shall  come  from  any  of 
the  stores  from  buying  corn  in  Egypt, 
and  shall  go  and  sell  it  throughout 
the  land,  he  shall  die,  for  no  one  shall 
buy  but /or  the  support  of  his  house- 
hold. 

34.  And  any  man  leading  two  or 
three  beasts  shall  die,  for  a  man  shall 
only  lead  his  own  beast. 

35.  And  Joseph  placed  sentinels 
at  the  gates  of  Egypt,  and  command- 
ed them,  saying,  any  person  who 
may  come  to  buy  corn,  suffer  him 
not  to  enter  imtil  his  name,  and  the 
name  of  his  father,  and  the  name  of 
his  father's  father  be  written  down, 
and  whatever  is  written  by  day,  send 
their  names  luito  me  in  the  evening 
that  I  may  know  their  names. 

36.  And  Joseph  placed  officers 
throughout  the  land  of  Egypt,  and 
he  commanded  them  to  do  all  these 
things. 

37.  And  Joseph  did  all  these 
things,  and  made  these  statutes,  in 
order  that  he  mishl  know  when  his 


brethren  should  come  to  Egypt  to 
buy  corn  ;  and  Joseph's  people  caus- 
ed it  daily  to  be  proclaimed  in  Egypt 
according  to  these  words  and  statutes 
which  Joseph  had  commanded. 

38.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
east  and  west  country,  and  of  all  the 
earth,  heard  of  the  statutes  and  re- 
gulations which  Joseph  had  enacted 
in  Egypt,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
extreme  parts  of  the  earth  came  and 
they  bought  corn  in  Egypt  day  after 
day,  and  then  went  away. 

39.  And  all  the  officers  of  Egypt 
did  as  Joseph  had  commanded,  and 
all  that  came  to  Egypt  to  buy  corn, 
the  gate  keepers  would  write  their 
names,  and  their  fathers'  names,  and 
daily  bring  them  in  the  evening  be- 
fore Joseph. 

CHAPTER  LI. 

1 .  And  Jacob  afterward  heard  that 
there  was  corn  in  Egypt,  and  he  cal- 
led unto  his  sons  to  go  to  Egypt  to 
buy  corn,  for  upon  them  also  did  the 
famine  prevail,  and  he  called  unto 
his  sons,  saying, 

2.  Behold  I  hear  that  there  is  corn 
in  Egypt  and  all  the  people  of  the 
earth  go  there  to  purchase,  nov;  there- 
fore why  will  you  show  yourselves 
satisfied  before  the  whole  earth?  go 
you  also  down  to  Egypt  and  buy  us  a 
little  corn  amongst  those  that  come 
there,  that  we  may  not  die. 

3.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  hearken- 
ed to  the  voice  of  their  father,  and 
they  rose  up  to  go  down  to  Egypt  in 
order  to  buy  corn  amongst  the  rest 
that  came  there. 

4.  And  Jacob  their  father  com- 
manded them,  saying,  when  you  come 
into  the  city  do  not  enter  together  in 
one  gate,  on  account  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  land. 


160 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


5.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  went 
forth  and  they  went  to  Egypt,  and  the 
sons  of  Jacob  did  all  as  their  father 
had  commanded  them,  and  Jacob  did 
not  send  Benjamin,  for  he  said,  lest 
an  accident  might  befall  him  on  the 
road  like  his  brother  ;  and  ten  of  Ja- 
cob's sons  went  forth. 

6.  And  whilst  the  sons  of  Jacob 
were  going  on  the  road,  they  repent- 
ed of  what  they  had  done  to  Joseph, 
and  they  spoke  to  each  other,  saying, 
we  know  that  our  brothei  Joseph 
went  down  to  Egypt,  and  now  we 
will  seek  him  where  we  go,  and  if 
we  find  him  we  will  take  him  from 
his  master  for  a  ransom,  and  if  not, 
by  force,  and  we  will  die  for  him. 

7.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  agreed 
to  this  thing  and  strengthened  them- 
selves on  account  of  Joseph,  to  de- 
liver him  from  the  hand  of  his  mas- 
ter, and  the  sons  of  Jacob  went  to 
Egypt ;  and  when  they  came  near  to 
Egypt  they  separated  from  each  other 
and  they  came  through  ten  gates  of 
Egypt,  and  the  gate  keepers  wrote 
their  names  on  that  day,  and  brought 
them  to  Joseph  in  the  evening. 

8.  And  Joseph  read  the  names 
from  the  hand  of  the  gate-keepers  of 
the  city,  and  he  found  that  his  breth- 
ren had  entered  at  the  ten  gates  of 
the  city,  and  Joseph  at  that  time  com- 
manded that  it  should  be  proclaimed 
throughout  the  land  of  Egypt,  saying, 

9.  Go  forth  all  ye  store  guards, 
close  all  the  corn  stores  and  let  only 
one  remain  open,  that  those  Avho 
come  may  purchase  from  it. 

10.  And  all  the  officers  of  Joseph 
did  so  at  that  time,  and  they  closed 
all  the  stores  and  left  only  one  open. 

11.  And  Joseph  gave  the  written 
names  of  his  brethren  to  him  that  was 
set  over  thfi  open  store,  and  he  said 
unto  him,  whosoever  shall   come  to 


thee  to  buy  corn,  ask  his  name,  and 
when  men  of  these  names  shall  come 
before  thee,  seize  them  and  send 
them,  and  they  did  so. 

12.  And  when  the  sons  of  Jacob 
came  into  the  city,  they  joined  toge- 
ther in  the  city  to  seek  Joseph  before 
they  bought  themselves  corn, 

13.  And  they  went  to  the  walls  of 
the  harlots,  and  they  sought  Joseph 
in  the  walls  of  the  harlots  for  three 
days,  for  they  thought  that  Joseph 
would  come  in  the  walls  of  the  har- 
lots, for  Joseph  was  very  comely  and 
well  favored,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob 
sought  Joseph  for  three  days,  and 
they  could  not  find  him. 

14.  And  the  man  who  was  set  over 
the  open  store  sought  for  those  names 
which  Joseph  had  given  him,  and  he 
did  not  find  them. 

15.  And  he  sent  to  Joseph,  saying, 
these  three  days  have  passed,  and 
those  men  whose  names  thou  didst 
give  unto  me  have  not  come  ;  and 
Joseph  sent  servants  to  seek  the 
men  in  all  Egypt,  and  to  bring  them 
before  Joseph. 

16.  And  Joseph's  servants  went 
and  came  into  Egypt  and  could  not 
find  them,  and  went  to  Goshen  and 
they  were  not  there,  and  then  went 
to  the  city  of  Raamses  and  could  not 
find  them. 

17.  And  Joseph  continued  to  send 
sixteen  servants  to  seek  his  brothers, 
and  they  went  and  spread  themselves 
in  the  four  corners  of  the  city,  and 
four  of  the  servants  went  into  the 
house  of  the  harlots,  and  they  found 
the  ten  men  there  seeking  their  bro- 
ther. 

1 8.  And  those  four  men  took  them 
and  brought  them  before  him,  and 
they  bowed  down  to  him  to  the 
ground,  and  Joseph  was  sitting  upon 
his  throne  in  his  temple,  clothed  with 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


161 


princely  garments,  and  upon  his  head 
was  a  large  crown  of  gold,  and  all 
the  mighty  men  were  sitting  around 
him. 

19.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  saw 
Joseph,  and  his  figure  and  comeliness 
and  dignity  of  countenance  seemed 
wonderful  in  their  eyes,  and  thev 
again  bowed  down  to  him  to  the 
ground. 

20.  And  Joseph  saw  his  brethren, 
and  he  knew  them,  but  they  knew 
him  not,  for  Joseph  was  very  great 
in  their  eyes,  therefore  they  knew 
him  not. 

21.  And  Joseph  spoke  to  them, 
saying,  from  whence  come  ye  ?  and 
they  all  answered  and  said,  thy  ser- 
vants have  come  from  the  land  of 
Canaan  to  buy  corn,  for  the  famine 
prevails  throughout  the  earth,  and 
thy  servants  heard  that  there  was 
corn  in  Egypt,  so  they  have  come 
amongst  the  other  comers  to  buy  corn 
for  their  support. 

22.  And  Joseph  answered  them, 
saying,  if  you  have  come  to  purchase 
as  you  say,  why  do  you  come  through 
ten  gates  of  the  city  ?  it  can  only  be 
that  you  have  come  to  spy  through 
the  land. 

23.  And  they  all  together  answer- 
ed Joseph,  and  said,  not  so  my  lord, 
we  are  right,  thy  servants  are  not 
spies,  but  we  have  come  to  buy  corn, 
for  thy  servants  are  all  brothers,  the 
sons  of  one  man  in  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, and  our  father  commanded  us, 
saying,  when  you  come  to  the  city 
do  not  enter  together  at  one  gate  on 
account  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land. 

24.  And  Joseph  again  answered 
them  and  said,  that  is  the  thing  which 
I  spoke  unto  you,  you  have  come  to 
spy  through  the  land,  therefore  you 
all  came  through  ten  gates  of  the 

11 


city ;  you  have  come  to  sec  the  na- 
kedness of  the  land. 

25.  Surely  every  one  that  cometh 
to  buy  corn  goeth  his  way,  and  you 
are  already  three  days  in  the  land, 
and  what  do  you  do  in  the  walls  of 
harlots  in  which  you  have  been  for 
these  three  days  ?  surely  spies  do 
like  unto  these  things. 

26.  And  they  said  unto  Joseph, 
far  be  it  from  our  lord  to  speak  thus, 
for  we  arc  twelve  brothers,  the  sons 
of  our  father  Jacob,  in  the  land  of 
Canaan,  the  son  of  Isaac,  the  son  of 
Abraham,  the  Hebrew,  and  behold 
the  youngest  is  with  our  father  this 
day  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  one 
is  not,  for  he  was  lost  from  us,  and 
we  thought  perhaps  he  might  be  in 
this  land,  so  we  are  seeking  him 
throughout  the  land,  and  have  come 
even  to  the  houses  of  harlots  to  seek 
him  there. 

27.  And  Joseph  said  imto  them, 
and  have  you  then  sought  him 
throughout  the  earth,  that  there  only 
remained  Egypt  for  you  to  seek  him 
in  ?  And  what  also  should  your  bro- 
ther do  in  the  houses  of  harlots,  al- 
though he  were  in  Egypt  ?  have  you 
not  said  that  you  are  from  the  sons 
of  Isaac,  the  son  of  Abraham,  and 
what  shall  the  sons  of  Jacob  do  theyi 
in  the  houses  of  harlots  ? 

28.  And  they  said  unto  him,  be- 
cause we  heard  that  Ishmaelites  stole 
him  from  us,  and  it  was  told  unto  us 
that  they  sold  him  in  Egypt,  and  thy 
servant,  our  brother,  is  very  comely 
and  well  favored,  so  we  thought  he 
would  surely  be  in  the  houses  of  har- 
lots, therefore  thy  servants  went  there 
to  seek  him  and  give  ransom  for 
him. 

29.  And  Joseph  still  answered 
them,  saying,  surely  you  speak  false- 
ly and  utter  lies,  to  say  of  yourselves 


162 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


that  you  are  the  sons  of  Abraham  ;  as 
Pharaoh  liveth  you  are  spies,  there- 
fore have  you  come  to  the  houses  of 
harlots  that  you  should  not  be  known. 

30.  And  Joseph  said  unto  them, 
and  now  if  you  find  him,  and  his 
master  requireth  of  you  a  great  price, 
will  you  give  it  for  him  ?  and  they 
said,  it  shall  be  given. 

31.  And  he  said  unto  them,  and  if 
his  master  will  not  consent  to  part 
with  him  for  a  great  price,  what  will 
you  do  unto  him  on  his  account  ?  and 
they  answered  him,  saying,  if  he  will 
not  give  him  unto  us  we  will  slay 
him,  and  take  our  brother  and  go 
away. 

32.  And  Joseph  said  unto  them, 
that  is  the  thing  which  I  have  spoken 
to  you ;  you  are  spies,  for  you  are 
come  to  slay  the  inhabitants  of  the 
land,  for  we  heard  that  two  of  your 
brethren  smote  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Shechem,  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  on 
account  of  your  sister,  and  you  now 
come  to  do  the  like  in  Egypt  on  ac- 
count of  your  brother. 

33.  Only  hereby  shall  I  know  that 
you  are  true  men ;  if  you  will  send 
home  one  from  amongst  you  to  fetch 
your  youngest  brother  from  your  fa- 
ther, and  to  bring  him  here  unto  me, 
and  by  doing  this  thing  I  will  know 
that  you  are  right. 

34.  And  Joseph  called  to  seventy 
of  his  mighty  men,  and  he  said  unto 
them,  take  these  men  and  bring  them 
into  the  ward. 

35.  And  the  mighty  men  took  the 
ten  men,  they  laid  hold  of  them  and 
put  them  into  the  ward,  and  they 
were  in  the  ward  three  days. 

36.  And  on  the  third  day  Joseph 
had  them  brought  out  of  the  ward, 
and  he  said  unto  them,  do  this  for 
yourselves  if  you  be  ti'ue  men,  so 
that  you  may  live,  one  of  your  breth- 


ren shall  be  confined  in  the  ward 
whilst  you  go  and  take  home  the 
corn  for  your  household  to  the  land 
of  Canaan,  and  fetch  your  youngest 
brother  and  bring  him  here  unto  me, 
that  I  may  know  that  you  are  true 
men  when  you  do  this  thing. 

37.  And  Joseph  went  out  from 
them  and  came  into  the  chamber, 
and  wept  a  great  weeping,  for  his 
pity  was  excited  for  them,  and  he 
washed  his  face,  and  returned  to 
them  again,  and  he  took  Simeon  from 
them  and  ordered  him  to  be  bound, 
but  Simeon  was  not  willing  to  be 
done  so,  for  he  was  a  very  powerful 
man  and  they  could  not  bind  him. 

38.  And  Joseph  called  unto  his 
mighty  men  and  seventy  valiant  men 
came  before  him  with  drawn  swords 
in  their  hands,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob 
were  terrified  at  them. 

39.  And  Joseph  said  unto  them, 
seize  this  man  and  confine  him  ire 
prison  until  his  brethren  come  to 
him,  and  Joseph's  valiant  men 
hastened  and  they  all  laid  hold  of 
Simeon  to  bind  him,  and  Simeon 
gave  a  loud  and  terrible  shriek  and 
the  cry  was  heard  at  a  distance. 

40.  And  all  the  valiant  men  of 
Joseph  were  terrified  at  the  sound  of 
the  shriek,  that  they  fell  upon  their 
faces,  and  they  were  greatly  afraid 
and  fled. 

41.  And  all  the  men  that  were 
with  Joseph  fled,  for  they  were  greatly 
afraid  of  their  lives,  and  only  Joseph 
Manasseh  his  son  remained  there, 
and  Manasseh  the  son  of  Joseph  saw 
the  strength  of  Simeon,  and  he  was 
exceedingly  wroth. 

42.  And  Manasseh  the  son  of 
Joseph  rose  up  to  Simeon,  and  Manas- 
seh smote  Simeon  a  heavy  blow  with 
his  fist  against  the  back  of  his  neck, 
and  Simeon  was  stilled  of  his  rage. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


163 


43.  And  Manasseh  laid  hold  of 
Simeon  and  he  seized  him  violently 
and  he  bound  him  and  brought  him 
into  the  house  of  confinement,  and 
all  the  sons  of  Jacob  were  astonished 
at  the  act  of  the  youth. 

44.  And  yimeou  said  unto  his 
brethren,  none  of  you  must  say  that 
this  is  the  smiting  of  an  Egyptian, 
but  it  is  the  smiting  of  the  house  of 
my  father. 

45.  And  after  this  Joseph  ordered 
him  to  be  called  who  was  set  over 
the  storehouse,  to  fill  their  sacks 
with  corn  as  much  as  they  coidd 
carry,  and  to  restore  every  man's 
money  into  his  sack,  and  to  give 
them  provision  for  the  road,  and  thus 
did  he  unto  them. 

46.  And  Joseph  commanded  them, 
saying,  take  heed  less  you  transgress 
my  orders  to  bring  your  brother  as 
I  have  told  you,  and  it  shall  be  when 
you  bring  your  brother  hither  unto 
me,  then  will  I  know  that  you  are 
true  men,  and  you  shall  traffick  in 
the  land,  and  I  will  restore  unto  you 
your  brother  and  you  shall  return  in 
peace  to  your  father. 

47.  And  they  all  answered  and 
said,  according  as  our  lord  speaketh 
so  will  we  do,  and  they  bowed  down 
to  him  to  the  ground. 

48.  And  every  man  lifted  his  corn 
upon  his  ass,  and  they  went  out  to 
go  to  the  land  of  Canaan  to  their 
father,  and  they  came  to  the  inn  and 
Levi  spread  his  sack  to  give  pro- 
vender to  his  ass,  when  he  saw  and 
behold  his  money  in  full  weight  was 
still  in  his  sack. 

49.  And  the  man  was  greatly 
afraid,  and  he  said  unto  his  brethren, 
my  money  is  restored  and  lo,  it  is 
even  in  my  sack,  and  the  men  were 
greatly  afraid,  and  they  said,  what  is 
this  that  God  hath  done  unto  us  ? 


50.  And  they  all  said,  and  where 
is  the  Lord's  kindness  with  our 
fathers,  with  Abraham,  Isaac  and 
Jacob,  that  the  Jjord  has  this  day 
delivered  us  into  the  hands  of  the 
king  of  Egypt  to  contrive  against  us  ? 

61.  And  Judah  said  unto  them, 
surely  we  are  guilty  sinners  before 
the  Lord  our  God  in  having  sold  our 
brother,  our  own  flesh,  and  where- 
fore do  you  say,  where  is  the  Lord's 
kindness  with  our  fathers  ? 

52.  And  Reuben  said  unto  them, 
said  I  not  unto  you,  do  not  sin 
against  the  lad,  and  you  would  not 
listen  to  me  ?  now  God  requireth 
him  from  us,  and  how  dare  you  say, 
where  is  the  Lord's  kindness  with 
our  fathers,  whilst  you  have  ainned 
unto  the  Lord  ? 

53.  And  they  tarried  over  night  in 
that  place,  and  they  rose  up  early  in 
the  morning  and  laded  their  asses 
with  their  corn,  and  they  led  them 
and  went  on  and  came  to  their 
father's  house  in  the  land  of  Canaan. 

54.  And  Jacob  and  his  household 
went  out  to  meet  his  sons,  and  Jacob 
saw  and  behold  their  brother  Simeon 
was  not  with  them,  and  Jacob  said 
unto  his  sons,  where  is  your  brother 
Simeon,  whom  I  do  not  see  ?  and  his 
sons  told  him  all  that  had  befallen 
them  in  Egypt. 

CHAPTER  LIT. 

1.  And  they  entered  their  house, 
and  every  man  opened  his  sack  and 
they  saw  and  behold  every  man's 
bundle  of  money  ivas  there,  at  which 
they  and  their  father  were  greatly 
terrified. 

2.  And  Jacob  said  unto  them, 
what  is  this  that  you  have  done  to 
me  ?  I  sent  your  brother  Joseph  to 
inquire  after  your  welfare  and  you 


164 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


said  unto  me,  a  wild  beast  did  de- 
vour him. 

3.  And  Simeon  went  with  you  to 
buy  food  and  you  say  the  king  of 
Egypt  hath  confined  him  in  prison, 
and  you  wish  to  take  Benjamin  to 
cause  his  death  also,  and  bring  down 
my  grey  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the 
grave  on  account  of  Benjamin  and 
his  brother  Joseph. 

4.  Now  therefore  my  son  shall  not 
go  down  with  you,  for  his  brother  is 
dead  and  he  is  left  alone,  and 
mischief  may  befall  him  by  the  way 
in  which  you  go,  as  it  befel  his  brother. 

5.  And  Reuben  said  unto  his 
father,  thou  shalt  slay  my  two  sons  if 
I  do  not  bring  thy  son  and  place  him 
before  thee  ;  and  Jacob  said  unto  his 
sons,  abide  ye  here  and  do  not  go 
down  to  Egypt,  for  my  son  shall  not 
go  down  with  you  to  Egypt,  nor  die 
like  his  brother. 

6.  And  Judah  said  unto  them,  re- 
frain ye  from  him  until  the  corn  is 
finished,  and  he  will  then  say,  take 
down  your  brother,  when  he  will  find 
his  oxvn  life  and  the  life  of  his  house- 
hold in  danger  from  the  famine. 

7.  And  in  those  days  the  famine 
was  sore  throughout  the  land,  and 
all  the  people  of  the  earth  went  and 
came  to  Egypt  to  buy  food,  for  the 
famine  prevailed  greatly  amongst 
them,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob  remained 
in  Canaan  a  year  and  two  months 
until  their  corn  was  finished. 

8.  And  it  came  to  pass  after  their 
corn  was  finished,  the  whole  house- 
hold of  Jacob  was  pinched  with 
hunger,  and  all  the  infants  of  the  sons 
of  Jacob  came  together  and  they 
approached  Jacob,  and  they  all  sur- 
rounded him,  and  they  said  unto  him, 
give  unto  us  bread  and  wherefore 
shall  we  all  perish  through  hunger  in 
thy  presence  ? 


9.  Jacob  heard  the  words  of  his 
sons'  and  children,  and  he  wept  a  great 
weeping,  and  his  pity  was  roused  for 
them,  and  Jacob  called  unto' his  sons 
and  they  all  came  and  sat  before 
him . 

10.  And  Jacob  said  unto  them, 
and  have  you  not  seen  how  your 
children  have  been  weeping  over  me 
this  day,  saying,  give  unto  us  bread, 
and  there  is  none  ?  now  therefore  re- 
turn and  buy  for  us  a  little  food. 

11.  And  Judah  answered  and  said 
unto  his  father,  if  ihou  wilt  send  our 
brother  with  us  we  will  go  down  and 
buy  corn  for  thee,  and  if  thou  wilt 
not  send  him  then  we  will  not  go 
down,  for  surely  the  king  of  Egypt 
particularly  enjoined  us,  saying,  you 
shall  not  see  my  face  unless  your 
brother  be  with  you,  for  the  king  of 
Egypt  is  a  strong  and  mighty  king, 
and  behold  if  we  shall  go  to  him 
without  our  brother  we  shall  all  be 
put  to  death. 

12.  Dost  thou  not  know  a7id,  hast 
thou  not  heard  that  this  king  is  very 
powerful  and  wise,  and  there  is  not 
like  unto  him  in  all  the  earth  ?  behold 
we  have  seen  all  the  kings  of  the 
earth  and  we  have  not  seen  one  like 
that  king,  the  king  of  Egypt;  surely 
amongst  all  the  kings  of  the  earth 
there  is  none  greater  than  Abimelech 
king  of  the  Philistines,  yet  the  king 
of  Egypt  is  greater  and  mightier 
than  he,  and  Abimelech  can  only  be 
compared  to  one  of  his  officers. 

13.  Father,  thou  hast  not  seen  his 
palace  and  his  throne,  and  all  his  ser- 
vants standing  before  him  ;  thou  hast 
not  seen  that  king  upon  his  throne 
in  his  pomp  and  royal  appearance, 
dressed  in  his  kingly  robes  with  a 
large  golden  crown  upon  his  head  ; 
thou  hast  not  seen  the  honor  and  glo- 
ry which  God  has  given  unto  him, 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


165 


for  there  is  not  like  unto  him  in  all 
the  earth. 

1 4.  Father,  thou  hast  not  seen  the 
wisdom,  the  understanding  and  the 
knowledge  which  God  has  given  in 
his  heart,  nor  heard  his  sweet  voice 
when  he  spake  unto  us. 

15.  We  know  not,  father,  who 
made  him  acquainted  with  our  names 
and  all  that  befel  us,  yet  he  asked 
also  after  thee,  saying,  is  your  father 
still  living,  and  is  it  well  WMth  him  ? 

16.  Thou  hast  not  seen  the  affairs 
of  the  government  of  Egypt  regulat- 
ed by  him,  without  inquiring  of  Pha- 
raoh his  lord  ;  thou  hast  not  seen  the 
awe  and  fear  which  he  impressed 
upon  all  the  Egyptians. 

17.  And  also  when  we  went  from 
him,  we  threatened  to  do  unto  Egypt 
like  unto  the  rest  of  the  cities  of  the 
Amorites,  and  we  were  exceedingly 
wroth  against  all  his  words  which  he 
spoke  considering  us  as  spies,  and 
now  when  we  shall  again  come  be- 
fore him  his  terror  will  fall  upon  us 
all,  and  not  one  of  us  will  be  able  to 
speak  to  him  either  a  little  or  great 
thing. 

18.  Now  therefore,  father,  send 
we  pray  thee  the  lad  with  us,  and  we 
will  go  down  and  buy  thee  food  for 
our  support,  and  not  die  through  hun- 
ger ;  and  Jacob  said,  why  have  you 
dealt  so  ill  with  me  to  tell  the  king 
you  had  a  brother  ?  what  is  this  thing 
that  you  have  done  unto  me  ? 

19.  And  Judah  said  unto  Jacob 
his  father,  give  the  lad  into  my  care 
and  we  will  rise  up  and  go  down  to 
Egypt  and  buy  corn,  and  then  return, 
and  it  shall  be  when  we  return  if  the 
lad  be  not  with  us,  then  let  me  bear 
thy  blame  forever. 

20.  Hast  thou  seen  all  our  infants 
weeping  over  thee  through  hunger 
and  there  is  no  power  in  thy  hand  to 


satisfy  them  ?  now  let  thy  pity  be 
roused  for  them  and  send  our  brother 
with  us  and  we  will  go. 

21.  For  how  will  the  Lord's  kind- 
ness to  our  ancestors  be  manifested 
to  thee  when  thou  sayest  that  the 
king  of  Egypt  will  take  away  thy 
son  ?  as  the  Lord  liveth  I  will  not 
leave  him  until  I  bring  him  and  place 
him  before  thee  ;  but  pray  for  us  unto 
the  Lord,  that  he  may  deal  kindly 
with  us,  to  cause  us  to  be  received 
favorably  and  kindly  before  the  king 
of  Egypt  and  his  men,  for  had  we 
not  delayed  surely  now  we  had  re- 
turned a  second  time  witii  thy  son. 

22.  And  Jacob  said  unto  his  sons, 
I  trust  in  the  Lord  God  that  he  may 
deliver  you  and  give  you  favor  in  the 
sight  of  the  king  of  Eg}^pt,  and  in 
the  sight  of  all  his  men. 

23.  Now  therefore  rise  up  and  go 
to  the  man,  and  take  for  him  in  your 
hands  a  present  from  what  can  be 
obtained  in  the  land  and  bring  it  be- 
fore him,  and  may  the  Almighty  God 
give  you  mercy  before  him  that  he 
may  send  Benjamin  and  Simeon  your 
brethren  with  you. 

24.  And  all  the  men  rose  up,  and 
they  took  their  brother  Benjamin, 
and  they  took  in  their  hands  a  large 
present  of  the  best  of  the  land,  and 
they  also  took  a  double  portion  of 
silver. 

25.  And  Jacob  strictly  command- 
ed his  sons  concerning  Benjamin, 
saying,  take  heed  of  him  in  the  way 
in  which  you  are  going,  and  do  not 
separate  yourselves  from  him  in  the 
road,  neither  in  Egypt. 

26.  And  Jacob  rose  up  from  his 
sons  and  spread  forth  his  hands  and 
he  prayed  unto  the  Ijord  on  account 
of  his  sons,  saying,  O  Lord  God  of 
heaven  and  earth,  remember  thy  co- 
venant with  our  father  Abraham,  re- 


166 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


member  it  with  my  father  Isaac  and 
deal  kindly  with  my  sons  and  deliver 
them  not  into  the  hands  of  the  king 
of  Egypt ;  do  it  I  pray  thee  0  God 
for  the  sake  of  thy  mercies  and  re- 
deem all  my  children  and  rescue 
them  from  Egyptian  power,  and  send 
them  their  two  brothers. 

27.  And  all  the  wives  of  the  sons 
of  Jacob  and  their  children  lifted  up 
their  eyes  to  heaven  and  they  all 
wept  before  the  Lord,  and  cried  unto 
him  to  deliver  their  fathers  from  the 
hand  of  the  king  of  Egypt. 

28.  And  Jacob  wrote  a  record  to 
the  king  of  Egypt  and  gave  it  into 
the  hand  of  Judah  and  into  the  hands 
of  his  sons  for  the  king  of  Egypt, 
saying, 

29.  From  thy  servant  Jacob,  son 
of  Isaac,  son  of  Abraham  the  He- 
brew, the  prince  of  God,  to  the  pow- 
erful and  wise  king,  the  revealer  of 
secrets,  king  of  Egypt,  greeting. 

30.  Be  it  known  to  my  lord  the 
king  of  Egypt,  the  famine  was  sore 
upon  us  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  I 
sent  my  sons  to  thee  to  buy  us  a  lit- 
tle food  from  thee  for  our  support. 

31.  For  my  sons  surrounded  me 
and  I  being  very  old  cannot  see  with 
my  eyes,  for  my  eves  have  become 
very  heavy  through  age,  as  well  as  with 
daily  weeping  for  my  son,  for  Joseph 
who  was  lost  from  before  me,  and 
I  commanded  my  sons  that  they 
should  not  enter  together  the  gates 
of  the  city  when  they  came  to 
Egypt,  on  account  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  land, 

32.  And  I  also  commanded  them 
to  go  about  Egypt  to  seek  for  my 
son  Joseph,  perhaps  they  might  find 
him  there,  and  they  did  so,  and  thou 
didst  consider  them  as  spies  of  the 
land. 

33.  Have  we  not  heard  concerning 


thee  that  thou  didst  interpret  Pha* 
raoh's  dream  and  didst  speak  truly 
unto  him  ?  how  then  dost  thou  not 
know  in  thy  wisdom  whether  my 
sons  are  spies  or  not  ? 

34.  Now  therefore,  my  lord  and 
king,  behold  I  have  sent  my  son  be- 
fore thee,  as  thou  didst  speak  unto 
my  sons  ;  I  beseech  thee  to  put  thy 
eyes  upon  him  until  he  is  returned 
to  me  in  peace  with  his  brethren. 

35.  For  dost  thou  not  know,  or 
hast  thou  not  heard  that  which  our 
God  did  unto  Pharaoh  when  he  took 
my  mother  Sarah,  and  what  he  did 
unto  Abimelech  king  of  the  Philis- 
tines on  account  of  her,  and  also 
what  our  father  Abraham  did  unto 
the  nine  kings  of  Elam,  how  he 
smote  them  all  with  a  few  men  that 
were  with  him  ? 

36.  And  also  what  my  two  sons 
Simeon  and  Levi  did  unto  the  eight 
cities  of  the  Amorites,  how  they  des- 
troyed them  on  account  of  their  sis- 
ter Dinah  ? 

37.  And  also  on  account  oi  their 
brother  Benjamin  they  consoled 
themselves  for  the  loss  of  his  brother 
Joseph;  what  will  they /Aen  doforhim 
when  they  see  the  hand  of  any  people 
prevailing  over  ihem,  for  his  sake  ? 

38.  Dost  thou  not  know,  0  king 
of  Egypt,  that  the  power  of  God  is 
with  us,  and  that  also  God  ever 
heareth  our  prayers  and  forsaketh  us 
not  all  the  days  ? 

39.  And  when  my  sons  told  me 
of  thy  dealings  with  them,  I  called 
not  unto  the  Lord  on  account  of  thee, 
for  then  thou  wouldst  have  perished 
with  thy  men  before  my  son  Benja- 
min came  before  thee,  but  I  thought 
that  as  Simeon  my  son  was  in  thy 
house,  perhaps  thou  mightest  deal 
kindly  with  him,  therefore  I  did  not 
this  thing  unto  thee. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER 


167 


40.  Now  therefore  beliold  Benja- 
ynin  my  son  cometh  unto  thee  with 
my  sons,  take  heed  of  him  and  put 
thy  eyes  upon  him,  and  then  will 
God  place  his  eyes  over  th'Ce  and 
throughout  thy  kingdom. 

41.  Now  r  have  told  thee  all  that 
is  in  my  heart,  and  behold  my  sons 
are  coming  to  thee  with  their  bro- 
ther, examine  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth  for  their  sake  and  send  them 
back  in  peace  with  their  brethren. 

42.  And  Jacob  gave  the  record  to 
his  sons  into  the  care  of  Judah  to 
give  it  unto  the  king  of  Egypt. 

CHAPTER  LIII. 

1 .  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  rose  up 
and  took  Benjamin  and  the  whole  of 
the  presents,  and  they  went  and 
came  to  Egypt  and  they  stood  before 
Joseph. 

2.  And  Joseph  beheld  his  brother 
Benjamin  with  them  and  he  saluted 
them,  and  these  men  came  to  Jo- 
seph's house. 

3.  And  Joseph  commanded  the 
superintendant  of  his  house  to  give 
to  his  brethren  to  eat,  and  he  did  so 
unto  them. 

4.  And  at  noon  lime  Joseph  sent 
for  the  men  to  come  before  him 
with  Benjamin,  and  the  men  told  the 
superintendant  of  Joseph's  house 
concerning  the  silver  that  was  return- 
ed in  their  sacks,  and  he  said  unto 
them,  it  will  be  well  with  you,  fear 
not,  and  he  brought  their  brother 
Simeon  unto  them. 

5.  And  Simeon  said  unto  his 
brethren,  the  lord  of  the  Egyptians 
has  acted  very  kindly  unto  me,  he 
■did  not  keep  me  bound,  as  you  saw 
with  your  eyes,  for  when  you  went 
out  from  the  city  he  let  me  free  and 
dealt  kindly  with  me  in  his  house. 


6.  And  Judah  took  Benjamin  l)y 
the  hand,  and  they  came  before  Jo- 
seph, and  tiiey  bowed  down  to  him 
to  the  ground. 

7.  And  the  men  gave  the  present 
unto  Joseph  and  they  all  sat  before 
him,  and  Joseph  said  unto  them,  is 
it  well  with  you,  is  it  well  with  your 
children,  is  it  well  with  your  aged 
father  ?  and  they  said  it  is  well,  and 
Judah  took  the  record  which  Jacob 
had  sent  and  gave  it  into  the  hand  of 
Joseph. 

8.  And  Joseph  read  the  letter  and 
knew  his  father's  writing,  and  he 
wished  to  weep  and  he  went  into  an 
inner  room  and  he  wept  a  great 
weeping ;  and  he  went  out. 

9.  And  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  and 
beheld  his  brother  Benjamin,  and  he 
said,  is  this  your  brother  of  whom 
you  spoke  unto  me?  and  Benjamin 
approached  Joseph,  and  Joseph 
placed  his  hand  upon  his  head  and 
he  said  unto  him,  may  God  be  gra- 
cious unto  thee  my  son. 

10.  And  when  Joseph  saw  his 
brother,  the  son  of  his  mother,  he 
again  wished  to  weep,  and  he  enter- 
ed the  chamber,  and  he  wept  there, 
and  he  washed  his  face,  and  went 
out  and  refrained //"om  weeping,  and 
he  said,  prepare  food. 

11.  And  Joseph  had  a  cup  from 
which  he  drank,  and  it  was  of  silver 
beautifully  inlaid  with  onyx  stones 
and  bdellium,  and  Joseph  struck  the 
cup  in  the  sight  of  his  brethren 
whilst  they  were  sitting  to  eat  with 
him. 

12.  And  Joseph  said  unto  the  men, 
I  know  by  this  cup  that  Reuben  the 
first  born,  Simeon  and  Levi  and  Ju- 
dah, Tssachar  and  Zebulun  are  child- 
ren from  one  mother,  seat  yourselves 
to  eat  according  to  your  births. 

13.  And  he  also  placed  the  others 


168 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


according  to  their  births,  and  he  said, 
I  know  that  this  your  youngest  bro- 
ther has  no  brother,  and  I,  like  him, 
have  no  brother,  he  shall  therefore  sit 
down  to  eat  with  me. 

14.  And  Benjamin  went  up  before 
Joseph  and  sat  upon  the  throne,  and 
the  men  beheld  the  acts  of  Joseph, 
and  they  were  astonished  at  them; 
and  the  men  ate  and  drank  at  that 
time  with  Joseph,  and  he  then  gave 
presents  unto  them,  and  Joseph  gave 
one  gift  unto  Benjamin,  and  Manas- 
seh  and  Ephraim  saw  the  acts  of 
their  father,  and  they  also  gave  pre- 
sents unto  him,  and  Osnath  gave 
him  one  present,  and  they  were  five 
presents  in  the  hand  of  Benjamin. 

15.  And  Joseph  brought  them  out 
wine  to  drink,  and  they  would  not 
drink,  and  they  said,  from  the  day 
on  which  Joseph  was  lost  we  have 
not  drunk  wine,  nor  eaten  any  de- 
licacies. 

16.  And  Joseph  swore  unto  them, 
and  he  pressed  them  hard,  and  they 
drank  plentifully  with  him  on  that 
day,  and  Joseph  afterward  turned  to 
his  brother  Benjamin  to  speak  with 
him,  and  Benjamin  was  still  sitting 
upon  the  throne  before  Joseph. 

17.  And  Joseph  said  unto  him, 
hast  thou  begotten  any  children  ?  and 
he  said,  thy  servant  has  ten  sons,  and 
these  are  their  names,  Bela,  Becher, 
Ashbal,  Gera,  Naaman,  Achi,  Rosh, 
Mupim,  Chupim  and  Ord,  and  I 
called  their  names  after  my  brother 
whom  I  have  not  seen. 

18.  And  he  ordered  them  to  bring 
before  him  his  map  of  the  stars, 
whereby  Joseph  knew  all  the  times, 
and  Joseph  said  unto  Benjamin,  I 
have  heard  that  the  Hebrews  are  ac- 
quainted with  all  wisdom,  dost  thou 
know  any  thing  of  this  ? 

19.  And  Benjamin  said,  thy  ser- 


vant is  knowing  also  in  all  the  wis- 
dom which  my  father  taught  me,  and 
Joseph  said  unto  Benjamin,  look  now 
at  this  instrument  and  understand 
where  thy  brother  Joseph  is  in 
Egypt,  who  you  said  went  down  to 
Egypt. 

20.  And  Benjamin  beheld  that  in- 
strument with  the  map  of  the  stars 
of  heaven,  and  he  was  wise  and  look- 
ed therein  to  know  where  his  brother 
was,  and  Benjamin  divided  the  whole 
land  of  Egypt  into  four  divisions,  and 
he  found  that  he  who  was  sitting  up- 
on the  throne  before  him  was  his 
brother  Joseph,  and  Benjamin  won- 
dered gi'eatly,  and  when  Joseph  saw 
that  his  brother  Benjamin  was  so 
much  astonished,  he  said  unto  Benja- 
min, what  hast  thou  seen,  and  why 
art  thou  astonished  ? 

21.  And  Benjamin  said  unto  Jo- 
seph, I  can  see  by  this  that  Joseph 
my  brother  sitteth  here  with  me  upon 
the  throne,  and  Joseph  said  unto  him, 
I  am  Joseph  thy  brother,  reveal  not 
this  thing  unto  thy  brethren  ;  behold 
I  will  send  thee  with  them  when  they 
go  away,  and  I  will  command  them 
to  be  brought  back  again  into  the 
city,  and  I  will  take  thee  away  from 
them. 

22.  And  if  they  dare  their  lives 
and  fight  for  thee,  then  shall  I  know 
that  they  have  repented  of  what  they 
did  unto  me,  and  1  will  make  myself 
known  to  them,  and  if  they  forsake 
thee  when  I  take  thee,  then  shalt  thou 
remain  with  me,  and  I  will  wrangle 
with  them,  and  they  shall  go  away, 
and  I  will  not  become  known  to 
them. 

23.  At  that  time  Joseph  com- 
manded his  officer  to  fill  their  sacks 
with  food,  and  to  put  each  man's  mo- 
ney into  his  sack,  and  to  put  the  cup 
in  the  sack  of  Benjamin,  and  to  give 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


169 


them  provision  for  the  road,  and  they 
did  so  unto  them. 

24.  And  on  the  next  day  the  men 
rose  up  early  in  the  morning,  and 
they  loaded  their  asses  with  their 
corn,  and  they  went  forth  with  Ben- 
jamin, and  they  went  to  the  land 
of  Canaan  with  their  brother  Ben- 
jamin. 

25.  They  had  not  gone  far  from 
Egypt  when  Joseph  commanded  him 
that  was  set  over  his  house,  saying, 
rise,  pursue  these  men  before  they 
get  too  far  from  Egypt,  and  say  unto 
them,  why  have  you  stolen  my  mas- 
ter's cup  ? 

26.  And  Joseph's  officer  rose  up 
and  he  reached  them,  and  he  spoke 
unto  them  all  the  words  of  Joseph  ; 
and  when  thev  heard  this  thing  they 
became  exceedingly  wroth,  and  they 
said,  he  with  whom  thy  master's  cup 
shall  be  found  shall  die,  and  we  will 
also  become  slaves. 

27.  And  they  hastened  and  each 
man  brought  down  his  sack  from  his 
ass,  and  they  looked  in  their  bags 
and  the  cup  was  found  in  Benjamin's 
bag,  and  they  all  tore  their  garments 
and  they  returned  to  the  city,  and 
they  smote  Benjamin  in  the  road, 
continually  smiting  him  until  he 
came  into  the  city,  and  they  stood 
before  Joseph. 

28.  And  Judah's  anger  was  kin- 
dled, and  he  said,  this  man  has  only 
brought  me  back  to  destroy  Egypt 
this  day. 

29.  And  the  men  came  to  Joseph's 
house,  and  they  found  Joseph  sitting 
upon  his  throne,  and  all  the  mighty 
men  standing  at  his  right  and  left. 

30.  And  Joseph  said  unto  them, 
what  is  this  act  that  you  have  done, 
that  you  took  away  my  silver  cup 
and  went  away  ?  but  1  know  that 
you  took  my  cup  in  order  to  know 


thereby  in  what  part  of  the  land  your 
brother  was. 

31.  And  Judah  said,  what  shall 
we  say  to  our  lord,  what  shall  we 
speak  and  how  shall  we  justify  our- 
selves ?  God  has  this  day  found  the 
iniquity  of  all  thy  servants,  therefore 
has  he  done  this  thing  to  us  this  day. 

32.  And  Joseph  rose  up  and  caught 
hold  of  Benjannn  and  took  him  from 
his  brethren  with  violence,  and  he 
came  to  the  house  and  locked  the 
door  at  them,  and  Joseph  commanded 
him  that  was  set  over  his  house  that 
he  should  say  unto  them,  thus  saith 
the  king,  go  in  peace  to  your  father, 
behold  I  have  taken  the  man  in  whose 
hand  my  cup  was  found. 

CHAPTER  LIV. 

1 .  And  when  Judah  saw  the  deal- 
ings of  Joseph  with  them,  Judah  ap- 
proached him  and  broke  open  the 
door,  and  came  with  his  brethren  be- 
fore Joseph. 

2.  And  Judah  said  unto  Joseph,  let 
it  not  seem  grievous  in  the  sight  of 
my  lord,  may  thy  servant  I  pray  thee 
speak  a  word  before  thee  ?  and  Jo- 
seph said  unto  him,  speak. 

3.  And  Judah  spoke  before  Joseph, 
and  his  brethren  were  there  standing 
before  them  ;  and  Judah  said  unto 
Joseph,  surely  when  we  first  came 
to  our  lord  to  buy  food,  thou  didst 
consider  us  as  spies  of  the  land,  and 
we  brought  Benjamin  before  thee, 
and  thou  still  makcst  sport  of  us  this 
day. 

\.  Now  therefore  let  the  king  hear 
my  words,  and  send  I  pray  thee  our 
brother  that  he  may  go  along  with 
us  to  our  father,  lest  thy  soul  perish 
this  day  with  all  the  souls  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Egypt. 

5.  Dost  thou  not  know  what  two 


170 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


of  my  brethren,  Simeon  and  Levi, 
did  unto  the  city  of  Shechem,  and 
unto  seven  cities  of  the  Amorites,  on 
account  of  our  sister  Dinah,  and  also 
what  they  would  do  for  the  sake  of 
their  brother  Benjamin  ? 

6.  And  I  with  my  strength,  who 
am  greater  and  mightier  than  both  of 
them,  come  this  day  upon  thee  and 
thy  land  if  thou  art  unwilling  to  send 
our  brother. 

7.  Hast  thou  not  heard  what  our 
God  who  made  choice  of  us  did  unto 
Pharaoh  on  account  of  Sarah  our 
mother,  whom  he  took  away  from 
our  father,  that  he  smote  him  and 
his  household  with  heavy  plagues, 
that  even  unto  this  day  the  Egyp- 
tians relate  this  wonder  to  each 
other  ?  so  will  our  God  do  unto  thee 
on  account  of  Benjamin  whom  thou 
hast  this  day  taken  from  his  father, 
and  on  account  of  the  evils  which 
thou  this  day  heapest  over  us  in  thy 
land  ;  for  our  God  will  remember  his 
covenant  with  our  father  Abraham 
and  bring  evil  upon  thee,  because 
thou  hast  grieved  the  soul  of  our  fa- 
ther this  day. 

8.  Now  therefore  hear  my  words 
that  I  have  this  day  spoken  unto  thee, 
and  send  our  brother  that  he  may  go 
away  lest  thou  and  the  people  of  thy 
land  die  by  the  sword,  for  you  can- 
not all  prevail  over  me. 

9.  And  Joseph  answered  Judah, 
saying,  why  hast  thou  opened  wide 
thy  mouth  and  why  dost  thou  boast 
over  us,  saying,  strength  is  with 
thee  ?  as  Pharaoh  liveth,  if  I  com- 
mand all  my  valiant  men  to  fight 
with  you,  surely  thou  and  these  thy 
brethren  would  sink  in  the  mire. 

10.  And  Judah  said  unto  Joseph, 
surely  it  becometh  thee  and  thy  peo- 
ple to  fear  me  ;  as  the  Lord  liveth  if 
I  once  draw  my  sword  I  shall  not| 


sheathe  it  again  until  I  shall  this  day 
have  slain  all  Egypt,  and  I  will  com- 
mence with  thee  and  finish  with  Pha- 
raoh thy  master. 

11.  And  Joseph  answered  and 
said  unto  him,  surely  strength  be- 
longeth  not  alone  lo  thee  ;  I  am 
stronger  and  mightier  than  thou  ; 
surely  if  thou  drawest  thy  sword  I 
will  put  it  to  thy  neck  and  the  necks 
of  all  thy  brethren. 

12.  And  Judah  said  unto  him, 
surely  if  I  this  day  open  my  mouth 
against  thee  I  would  swallow  thee  up 
that  thou  be  destroyed  from  off  the 
earth  and  perish  this  day  from  thy 
kingdom.  And  Joseph  said,  surely 
if  thou  openest  thy  mouth  I  have 
power  and  might  to  close  thy  mouth 
with  a  stone  until  thou  shalt  not  be 
able  to  utter  a  word  ;  see  how  many 
stones  are  before  us,  truly  I  can  take 
a  stone,  and  force  it  into  thy  mouth 
and  break  thy  jaws. 

13.  And  Judah  said,  God  is  wit- 
ness between  us,  that  we  have  not 
hitherto  desired  to  battle  with  thee, 
only  give  us  our  brother  and  we  will 
go  from  thee  ;  and  Joseph  answered 
and  said,  as  Pharaoh  liveth,  if  all 
the  kings  of  Canaan  came  together 
with  you,  you  should  not  take  him 
from  my  hand. 

14.  Now  therefore  go  your  way  to 
your  father,  and  your  brother  shall 
be  unto  me  for  a  slave,  for  he  has 
robbed  the  king's  house.  And  Judah 
said,  what  is  it  to  thee  or  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  king,  surely  the  king 
sendeth  forth  from  his  house,  through- 
out the  land,  silver  and  gold  either  in 
gifts  or  expenses,  and  thou  still  talk- 
est  about  thy  cup  which  thou  didst 
place  in  our  brother's  bag  and  sayest 
that  he  has  stolen  it  from  thee  ? 

15.  God  forbid  that  our  brother 
Benjamin  or  any  of  the  seed  of  Abra- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


171 


ham  should  do  this  thhig  to  steal  from 
thee,  or  from  any  one  else,  wiiether 
king,  prince,  or  any  man. 

16.  Now  therefore  cease  this  ac- 
cusation lest  the  whole  earth  hear  thy 
words,  saying,  for  a  little  silver  the 
king  of  Egy[)t  wrangled  with  the 
men,  and  he  accused  them  and  took 
their  brother  for  a  slave. 

17.  And  Joseph  answered  and  said, 
take  unto  you  this  cup  and  go  from 
me  and  leave  your  brother  for  a  slave, 
for  it  is  the  judgment  of  a  thief  to  be 
a  slave. 

18.  And  Judah  said,  why  art  thou 
not  ashamed  of  thy  words,  to  leave 
our  brother  and  to  take  thy  cup? 
8urely  if  thou  givest  us  thy  cup,  or 
a  thousand  times  as  much,  we  will 
not  leave  our  brother  for  the  silver 
which  is  found  in  the  hand  of  any 
man,  that  we  will  not  die  over  him. 

19.  And  Joseph  answered,  and  why 
did  you  forsake  your  brother  and  sell* 
him  for  twenty  pieces  of  silver  unto 
this  day,  and  why  then  will  you  not 
do  the  same  to  this  your  brother  ? 

20.  And  Judah  said,  the  Lord  is 
witness  between  me  and  thee  that 
we  desire  not  thy  battles  ;  now  there- 
fore give  us  our  brother  and  we  will 
go  from  thee  without  quarreling. 

21.  And  Joseph  answered  and 
said,  if  all  the  kings  of  the  land 
should  assemble  they  will  not  be  able 
to  take  your  brother  from  my  hand  ; 

*  It  may  seem  strange  that  they  were  not 
surprised  at  hearing  this  declaration  from  Jo- 
seph, how  he  should  become  acquainted  with 
what  was  only  known  to  themselves,  but  it  must 
be  remembered  that  they  knew  that  Joseph  was 
an  interpreter  of  dreams  and  a  noted  magician  ; 
this  may  be  corroborated  by  Jacob's  letter  to 
Joseph,  ch.  .52,  v.  33.  "  Have  we  not  hoard 
concerning  thee,  that  thou  didst  interpret  Pha- 
raoh's  dream,  and  didst  make  this  famine  known 
to  him  before  it  came,  and  didst  speak  truly  unto 
him,  how  then  dost  thou  not  know  in  thy  wis- 
dom whether  my  sons  are  spies  or  not?" 


I  and  Judah  said,  what  shall  we  say 
unto  our  father,  when  he  seeth  that 
our  brother  cometh  not  with  us,  aJid 
will  grieve  over  him  ? 

22.  And  Joseph  answered  and 
said,  this  is  the  thing  which  you  shall 
tell  unto  your  father,  saying,  the  rope 
has  gone  after  the  bucket. 

23.  And  Judah  said,  surely  thou 
art  a  king,  and  why  speakcst  thou 
these  things,  giving  a  false  judgment? 
woe  unto  the  king  who  is  like  unto 
ihce. 

24.  And  Joseph  answered  and 
said,  there  is  no  false  judgment  in  the 
word  that  I  spoke  on  account  of  your 
brother  Joseph,  for  all  of  you  sold 
him  to  the  Midianites  for  twenty 
pieces  of  silver,  and  you  all  denied 
it  to  your  father  and  said  unto  him, 
an  evil  beast  has  devoured  him,  Jo- 
seph has  been  torn  to  pieces. 

25.  And  Judah  said,  behold  the 
fire  of  Shem  burneth  in  my  heart, 
now  I  will  burn  all  your  land  with 
fire  ;  and  Joseph  answered  and  said, 
surely  thy  sister-in-law  Tamar,  who 
killed  your  sons,  extinguished  the 
fire  of  Shechem. 

26.  And  Judah  said,  if  I  pluck  out 
a  single  hair  from  mv  llesh,  I  will 
fill  all  Egypt  with  its  blood. 

27.  And  Joseph  answered  and 
said,  such  is  your  custom  to  do  as 
you  did  to  your  brother  whom  you 
sold,  and  you  dipped  his  coat  in  blood 
and  brought  it  to  your  father  in  order 
that  he  might  say  an  evil  beast  de- 
voured him  and  here   is  his  blood. 

28.  And  when  Judah  heard  this 
thing  he  was  exceedingly  wroth  and 
his  anger  burned  within  him,  and 
there  was  before  him  in  that  place  a 
stone,  the  weight  of  which  was  about 
four  hundred  shekels,  and  Judah's 
anger  was  kindled  and  he  took  the 
stone  in  one  hand  and  cast  it  to  the 


172 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


heavens  and  caught  it  with  his  left 
hand. 

29.  And  he  placed  it  afterward 
under  his  legs,  and  he  sat  upon  it 
with  all  his  strength  and  the  stone 
was  turned  into  dust  from  the  force 
of  Judah. 

30.  And  Joseph  saw  the  act  of 
Judah  and  he  was  very  much  afraid, 
but  he  commanded  Manasseh  his 
son  and  he  also  did  with  another 
stone  like  unto  the  act  of  Judah,  and 
Judah  said  unto  his  brethren,  let  not 
any  of  you  say,  this  man  is  an  Egyp- 
tian, but  by  his  doing  this  thing  he 
is  of  our  father's  family. 

31.  And  Joseph  said,  not  to  you 
only  is  strength  given,  for  we  are 
also  powerful  men,  and  why  will  you 
boast  over  us  all?  and  Judah  said  un- 
to Joseph,  send  I  pray  thee  our  bro- 
ther and  ruin  not  thy  country  this  day. 

32.  And  Joseph  answered  and 
said  unto  them,  go  and  tell  your  fa- 
ther, an  evil  beast  hath  devoured  him 
as  you  said  concerning  your  brother 
Joseph. 

33.  And  Judah  spoke  to  his  bro- 
ther Naphtali,  and  he  said  unto  him, 
make  haste,  go  now  and  number  all 
the  streets  of  Egypt  and  come  and 
tell  me;  and  Simeon  said  unto  him, 
let  not  this  thing  be  a  trouble  to  thee ; 
now  I  will  go  to  the  mount  and  take 
up  one  large  stone  from  the  mount 
and  level  it  at  every  one  in  Egypt 
and  kill  all  that  are  in  it. 

34.  And  Joseph  heard  all  these 
words  tliat  his  brethren  spoke  before 
him,  and  they  did  not  know  that  Jo- 
seph understood  them,  for  they  ima- 
gined that  he  knew  not  to  speak  He- 
brew. 

35.  And  Joseph  was  greatly  afraid 
at  the  words  of  his  brethren  lest  they 
should  destroy  Egypt,  and  he  com- 
manded his  son  Manasseh,  saying, 


go  now  make  haste  and  gather  unto 
me  all  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt  and 
all  the  valiant  men  together,  and  let 
them  come  to  me  now  upon  horse- 
back and  on  foot  and  with  all  sorts 
q/"  musical  instruments,  and  Manas- 
seh went  and  did  so. 

36.  And  Naphtali  went  as  Judah 
had  commanded  him,  for  Naphtali 
was  light-footed  as  one  of  the  swift 
stags,  and  he  would  go  upon  the  ears 
of  corn  and  they  would  not  break 
under  him. 

37.  And  he  went  and  numbered 
all  the  streets  of  Egypt,  and  found 
them  to  be  twelve,  and  he  came 
hastily  and  told  Judah,  and  Judah 
said  unto  his  brethren,  hasten  you 
and  put  on  every  man  his  sword  up- 
on his  loins  and  we  will  come  over 
Egypt,  and  smite  them  all,  and  let 
not  a  remnant  remain. 

38.  And  Judah  said,  behold,  I  will 
destroy  three  of  the  streets  with  my 
strength,  and  you  shall  each  destroy 
one  street ;  and  when  Judah  was 
speaking  this  thing,  behold  the  inha- 
bitants of  Egypt  and  all  the  mighty 
men  came  toward  them  with  all 
sorts  of  musical  instruments  and 
with  loud  shouting. 

39.  And  their  number  was  five 
hundred  cavalry  and  ten  thousand  in- 
fantry, and  four  hundred  men  who 
could  fight  without  sword  or  spear, 
only  with  their  hands  and  strength. 

40.  And  all  the  mighty  men  came 
with  great  storming  and  shouting, 
and  they  all  surrounded  the  sons  of 
Jacob  and  terrified  them,  and  the 
ground  quaked  at  the  sound  of  their 
shouting. 

41.  And  when  the  sons  of  Jacob 
saw  these  troops  they  were  greatly 
afraid  of  their  lives,  and  Joseph  did 
so  in  order  to  terrify  the  sons  of  Ja- 
cob to  become  tranquiUzed. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


173 


42.  And  Judah,  seeing  some  of 
his  brethren  terrified,  said  unto  lliem, 
why  are  you  afraid  whilst  the  grace 
of  God  is  with  us  ?  and  when  Judah 
saw  all  the  people  of  Egypt  surround- 
ing them  at  the  command  of  Joseph 
to  terrify  them,  only  Joseph  com- 
manded them,  saying,  do  not  touch 
any  of  them  ; 

43.  Then  Judah  hastened  and 
drew  his  sword,  and  uttered  a  loud 
and  bitter  scream,  and  he  smote 
with  his  sword,  and  he  sprang  upon 
the  ground,  and  he  still  continued  to 
shout  against  all  the  people. 

44.  And  when  he  did  this  thing 
the  Lord  caused  the  terror  of  Judah 
and  his  brethren  to  fall  upon  the 
valiant  men  and  all  the  people  that 
surrounded  them. 

45.  And  they  all  fled  at  the  sound 
of  the  shouting,  and  they  were  ter- 
lified  and  fell  one  upon  the  other, 
and  many  of  them  died  as  they  fell, 
and  they  all  fled  from  before  Judah 
and  his  brethren  and  from  before  Jo- 
seph. 

46.  And  whilst  they  were  fleeing 
Judah  and  his  brethren  pursued  them 
unto  the  house  of  Pharaoh,  and  they 
all  escaped,  and  Judah  again  sat  be- 
fore Joseph  and  roared  at  him  hke 
a  lion,  and  gave  a  great  and  tremen- 
dous shriek  at  him. 

47.  And  the  shriek  was  heard  at 
a  distance,  and  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Succoth  heard  it,  and  all  Egypt 
quaked  at  the  sound  of  the  shriek, 
and  also  the  walls  of  Egypt  and  of 
the  land  of  Goshen  fell  in  from  the 
shaking  of  the  earth,  and  Pharaoh 
also  fell  from  his  throne  upon  the 
ground,  and  also  all  the  pregnant 
women  of  Egypt  and  Goshen  mis- 
carried when  they  heard  the  noise  of 
the  shaking,  for  they  were  terribly 
afraid. 


48.  And  Pharaoh  sent  word,  say- 
ing, what  is  this  thing  that  has  this 
day  happened  in  the  land  of  Egypt  ? 
and  they  came  and  told  him  all  the 
things  from  beginning  to  end,  and 
Pharaoh  was  alarmed  and  he  won-« 
dered  and  was  greatly  afraid. 

49.  And  his  fright  increased  when 
he  heard  all  these  things,  and  he 
sent  unto  Joseph,  saying,  thou  hast 
brought  unto  me  the  Hebrews  to 
destroy  all  Egypt ;  what  wilt  thou 
do  with  that  thievish  slave  ?  send 
him  away  and  let  him  go  with  his 
brethren,  and  let  us  not  perish 
through  their  evil,  even  we,  you  and 
all  Egypt. 

50.  And  if  thou  desirest  not  to 
do  this  thing,  cast  ofi"  from  thee  all 
my  valuable  things,  and  go  with 
them  to  their  land,  if  thou  delightest 
in  it,  for  they  will  this  day  destroy 
my  whole  country  and  slay  all  my 
people ;  even  all  the  women  of 
Egypt  have  miscarried  through  their 
screams  ;  see  what  they  have  done 
merely  by  their  shouting  and  speak- 
ing, moreover  if  they  fight  with  the 
sword,  they  will  destroy  the  land ; 
now  therefore  choose  that  which 
thou  desirest,  whether  me  or  the 
Hebrews,  whether  Egypt  or  the  land 
of  the  Hebrews. 

51.  And  they  came  and  told  Jo- 
seph all  the  words  of  Pharaoh  that 
he  had  said  concerning  him,  and  Jo- 
seph was  greatly  afraid  at  the  words 
of  Pharaoh,  and  Judah  and  his  bre- 
thren were  still  standing  before  Jo- 
seph indignant  and  enraged,  and  all 
the  sons  of  Jacob  roared  at  Joseph, 
like  the  roaring  of  the  sea  and  its 
waves. 

52.  And  Joseph  was  greatly  afraid 
of  his  brethren  and  on  account  of 
Pharaoh,  and  Joseph  sought  a  pre- 
text to  make  himself  known  unto  his 


174 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


brethren,  lest  they  should  destroy  all 

Egypt. 

53.  And  Joseph  commanded  his 
son  Manasseh,  and  Manasseh  went 
and  approached  Judah,  and  placed 
his  hand  upon  his  shoulder,  and  the 
anger  of  Judah  was  stilled. 

54.  And  Judah  said  unto  his 
brethren,  let  no  one  of  you  say  that 
this  is  the  act  of  an  Egyptian  youth 
for  this  is  the  work  of  my  father's 
house. 

55.  And  Joseph  seeing  and  know- 
ing that  Judah's  anger  was  stilled, 
he  approached  to  speak  unto  Judah 
in  the  language  of  mildness. 

56.  And  Joseph  said  unto  Judah, 
surely  you  speak  truth  and  have  this 
day  verified  your  assertions  con- 
cerning your  strength,  and  may  your 
God  who  delightelTi  in  you,  increase 
your  welfare  ;  but  tell  me  truly  why 
from  amongst  all  thy  brethren  dost 
thou  wrangle  with  me  on  account  of 
the  lad,  as  none  of  them  had  spoken 
one  word  to  me  concerning  him. 

57.  And  Judah  answered  Joseph, 
saying,  surely  thou  must  know  that 
I  was  security  for  the  lad  to  his 
father,  saying,  if  I  brought  him  not 
unto  him  I  should  bear  his  blame 
forever. 

58.  Therefore  have  I  approached 
thee  from  amongst  all  my  brethren, 
for  I  saw  that  thou  wast  unwilling  to 
suffer  him  to  go  from  thee ;  now 
therefore  may  I  find  grace  in  thy 
sight  that  thou  shalt  send  him  to  go 
with  us,  and  behold  I  will  remain  as 
a  substitute  for  him,  to  serve  thee  in 
whatever  thou  desirest,  for  whereso- 
ever thou  shalt  send  m.e  I  will  go  to 
serve  thee  with  great  energy. 

59.  Send  me  now  to  a  mighty 
king  who  has  rebelled  against  thee 
and  thou  shalt  know  what  I  will  do 
unto  him  and  unto  his  land ;  although 


he  may  have  cavalry  and  infantry 
or  an  exceeding  mighty  people,  1 
will  slay  them  all  and  bring  the 
king's  head  before  thee. 

60.  Dost  thou  not  know  or  hast 
thou  not  heard  that  our  father  Abra- 
ham with  his  servant  Eliezer  smote 
all  the  kings  of  Elam  with  their 
hosts  in  one  night,  they  left  not  one 
remaining  ?  and  ever  since  that  day 
our  father's  strength  was  given  unto 
us  for  an  inheritance,  for  us  and  our 
seed  forever. 

61.  And  Joseph  answered  and 
said,  you  speak  truth  and  falsehood 
is  not  in  your  mouth,  for  it  was  also 
told  unto  us  that  the  Hebrews  have 
power  and  that  the  Lord  their  God 
delighteth  much  in  them,  and  who 
then  can  stand  before  them  ? 

62.  However  on  this  condition 
will  I  send  your  brother,  if  you  will 
bring  before  me  his  brother  the  son 
of  his  mother,  of  whom  you  said  that 
he  had  gone  from  you  down  to  Egypt ; 
and  it  shall  come  to  pass  when  you 
bring  unto  me  his  brother  I  will  take 
him  in  his  stead,  because  not  one  of 
you  was  security  for  him  to  your 
father,  and  when  he  shall  come  vuito 
me,  I  will  then  send  with  you  his 
brother  for  whom  you  have  been 
security. 

63.  And  Judah's  anger  was  kin- 
dled against  Joseph  when  he  spoke 
this  thing,  and  his  eyes  dropped  blood 
with  anger,  and  he  said  unto  his 
brethren,  how  doth  this  man  this  day 
seek  his  own  destruction  and  that  of 
all  Egypt !  ,  t        ^ 

64.  And  Simeon  answered  Joseph, 
saying,  did  we  not  tell  thee  at  first 
that  we  knew  not  the  particular* 
spot  to  which  he  went,  and  whether 

*  Although  they  knew  he  went  down  to- 
Egypt,  they  could  not  tell  to  what  part  or  what 
town  of  Egypt  he  went. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


175 


he  be  dead  or  alive,  and  wherefore 
speaketh  my  lord  like  unto  these 
things  ? 

65.  And  Joseph  observing  the 
countenance  of  Judah  discerned  that 
his  anger  began  to  kindle  when  he 
spoke  unto  him,  saying  bring  unto 
me  your  other  brother  instead  of  this 
brother. 

66.  And  Joseph  said  unto  his  breth- 
ren, surely  you  said  that  your  brother 
was  either  dead  or  lost,  now  if  I  should 
call  him  this  day  and  he  should  come 
before  you,  would  you  give  him 
unio  me  instead  of  his  brother  ? 

67.  And  Joseph  began  to  speak 
and  call  out,  Joseph,  Joseph,  come 
this  day  before  me,  and  appear  to 
thy  brethren  and  sit  before  them. 

68.  And  when  Joseph  spoke  this 
thing  before  them,  they  looked  each 
a  different  way  to  see  from  whence 
Joseph  would  come  before  them. 

69.  And  Joseph  observed  all  their 
acts,  and  said  unto  them,  why  do 
you  look  here  and  there  ?  I  am 
Joseph  whom  you  sold  to  Egypt, 
now  therefore  let  it  not  grieve  you 
that  you  sold  me,  for  as  a  support 
during  the  famine  did  God  send  me 
before  you. 

70.  And  his  brethren  were  terrifi- 
ed at  him  when  they  heard  the  words 
of  Joseph,  and  Judah  was  exceed- 
ingly terrified  at  him. 

71 .  And  when  Benjamin  heard  the 
words  of  Joseph  he  was  before  them 
in  the  inner  part  of  the  house,  and 
Benjamin  ran  unto  Joseph  his  brother 
and  embraced  him  and  fell  upon  his 
neck,  and  they  wept. 

72.  And  when  Joseph's  brethren 
saw  that  Benjamin  had  fallen  upon 
his  brother's  neck  and  wept  with  him, 
they  also  fell  upon  Joseph  and  em- 
braced him,  and  they  wept  a  great 
weeping  with  Joseph. 


73.  And  the  voice  was  heard  in 
the  house  of  Joseph  that  they  were 
Joseph's  brethren,  and  it  pleased 
Pharaoh  exceedingly,  for  he  was 
afraid  of  them  lest  they  should  de- 
stroy Egypt. 

74.  And  Pharaoh  sent  his  servants 
unto  Joseph  to  congratulate  him 
concerning  his  brethren  who  had 
come  to  him,  and  all  the  captains  of 
the  armies  and  troops  that  were  in 
Egypt  came  to  rejoice  with  Joseph, 
and  all  Egypt  rejoiced  greatly  about 
Joseph's  brethren. 

75.  And  Pharaoh  sent  his  servants 
to  Joseph,  saying,  tell  thy  brethren 
to  fetch  all  belonging  to  them  and  let 
them  come  unto  me  and  I  will  place 
them  in  the  best  part  of  the  land  of 
Egypt,  and  they  did  so. 

76.  And  Joseph  commanded  him 
that  was  set  over  his  house  to  bring 
out  to  his  brethren  gifts  and  garments, 
and  he  brought  out  to  I  hem  many 
garments  being  robes  of  royalty  and 
many  gifts,  and  Joseph  divided  them 
amongst  his  brethren. 

77.  And  he  gave  unto  each  of  hi.s 
brethren  a  change  of  garments  of 
gold  and  silver,  and  three  hun- 
dred pieces  of  silver,  and  Joseph 
commanded  them  all  to  be  dressed  in 
these  garments  and  to  be  brought 
before  Pharaoh. 

78.  And  Pharaoh  seeing  that  all 
Joseph's  brethren  were  valiant  men, 
and  of  beautiful  appearance,  he  great- 
ly rejoiced. 

79.  And  they  afterward  went  out 
from  the  presence  of  Pharaoh  to  go 
to  the  land  of  Canaan,  to  their  father, 
and  their  brother  Benjamin  was  with 
them. 

80.  And  Joseph  rose  up  and  gave 
unto  them  eleven  chariots  from  Pha- 
raoh, and  Joseph  gave  unto  them  his 
chariot,  upon  which  he  rode  on  the 


176 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


day  of  his  being  crowned  in  Egypt, 
to  fetch  his  father  to  Egypt ;  and  Jo- 
seph sent  to  all  his  brothers'  children, 
garments  according  to  their  numbers, 
and  a  hundred  pieces  of  silver  to  each 
of  them,  and  he  also  sent  garments 
to  the  wives  of  his  brethren  from  the 
garments  of  the  king's  wives,  and  he 
sent  them. 

81.  And  he  gave  unto  each  of  his 
brethren  ten  men  to  go  with  them  to 
the  land  of  Canaan  to  serve  them,  to 
serve  their  children  and  all  belonjrinjr 
to  them  m  connng  to  Egypt. 

82.  And  Joseph  sent  by  the  hand 
of  his  brother  Benjamin  ten  suits  of 
garments  for  his  ten  sons,  a  portion 
above  the  rest  of  the  children  of  the 
sons  of  Jacob. 

83.  And  he  sent  to  each  fifty 
pieces  of  silver,  and  ten  chariots  on 
the  account  of  Pharaoh,  and  he  sent 
to  his  father  ten  asses  laden  with  all 
the  luxuries  of  Egypt,  and  ten  she- 
asses  laden  with  corn  and  bread  and 
nourishment  for  his  father,  and  to  all 
that  were  with  him  as  provision  for 
the  road. 

84.  And  he  sent  to  his  sister  Dinah 
garments  of  silver  and  gold,  and 
frankincense  and  myrrh,  and  aloes 
and  women's  ornaments  in  great 
plenty,  and  he  sent  the  same  from 
the  wives  of  Pharaoh  to  the  wives 
of  Benjamin. 

85.  And  he  gave  unto  all  his  bre- 
thren, also  to  their  wives,  all  sorts  of 
onyx  stones  and  bdellium,  and  from 
all  the  valuable  things  amongst  the 
great  people  of  Egypt,  nothing  of  all 
the  costly  things  was  left  but  what 
Joseph  sent  of  to  his  father's  house- 
hold. 

86.  And  he  sent  his  brethren  away, 
and  they  went,  and  he  sent  his  bro- 
ther Benjamin  with  them. 

87.  And  Joseph  went  out  with 


them  to  accompany  them  on  the  road 
unto  the  borders  of  Egypt,  and  he 
commanded  them  concerning  his  fa- 
ther and  his  household,  to  come  to 
Egypt. 

88.  And  he  said  unto  them,  do  not 
quarrel  on  the  road,  for  this  thing 
was  from  the  Lord  to  keep  a  great 
people  from  starvation,  for  there  will 
be  yet  five  years  of  famine  in  the 
land. 

89.  And  he  commanded  them, 
saying,  when  you  come  unto  the  land 
of  Canaan,  do  not  come  suddenly  be- 
fore my  father  in  this  affair,  but  act 
in  your  wisdom. 

90.  And  Joseph  ceased  to  com- 
mand them,  and  he  turned  and  went 
back  to  Egypt,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob 
went  to  the  land  of  Canaan  with  joy 
and  cheerfulness  to  their  father  Ja- 
cob. 

91.  And  they  came  unto  the  bor- 
ders of  the  land,  and  they  said  to 
each  other,  what  shall  we  do  in  this 
matter  before  our  father,  for  if  we 
come  suddenly  to  him  and  tell  him 
the  matter,  he  will  be  greatly  alarmed 
at  oiu:  words  and  will  not  believe  us. 

92.  And  they  went  along  until 
they  came  nigh  unto  their  houses, 
and  they  found  Serach,  the  daughter 
of  Asher,  going  forth  to  meet  them, 
and  the  damsel  was  very  good  and 
subtle,  and  knew  how  to  play  upon 
the  harp, 

93.  And  they  called  unto  her  and 
she  came  before  them,  and  she  kiss- 
ed them,  and  they  took  her  and  gave 
unto  her  a  harp,  saying,  go  now  be- 
fore our  father,  and  sit  before  him, 
and  strike  upon  the  harp,  and  speak 
these  words. 

94.  And  they  commanded  her  to 
go  to  their  house,  and  she  took  the 
harp  and  hastened  before  them,  and 
she  came  and  sat  near  Jacob. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


17T 


95.  And  she  played  well  and  sang, 
and  uttered  in  tlie  sweetness  of  her 
words,  Joseph  my  uncle  is  living, 
and  he  ruleth  throughout  the  land  of 
Egypt,  and  is  not  dead. 

96.  And  she  continued  to  repeat 
and  utter  these  words,  and  Jacob 
heard  her  words  and  they  were  agree- 
able to  him. 

97.  He  listened  whilst  she  repeat- 
ed them  twice  and  thrice,  and  joy 
entered  the  heart  of  Jacob  at  the 
sweetness  of  her  words,  and  the  spi- 
rit of  God  was  upon  him,  and  he 
knew  all  her  words  to  be  true. 

98.  And  Jacob  blessed  Serach 
when  she  spoke  these  words  before 
him,  and  he  said  unto  her,  my  daugh- 
ter, may  death  never  prevail  over 
thee,  for  thou  hast  revived  my  spirit ; 
only  speak  yet  before  me  as  thou 
hast  spoken,  for  thou  hast  gladdened 
me  with  all  thy  words. 

99.  And  she  continued  to  sing 
these  words,  and  Jacob  listened  and 
it  pleased  him,  and  he  rejoiced,  and 
the  spirit  of  God  was  upon  him. 

100.  Whilst  he  was  yet  speaking 
■with  her,  behold  his  sons  came  to 
him  with  horses  and  chariots  and 
royal  garments  and  servants  running 
before  them. 

101.  And  Jacob  rose  up  to  meet 
them,  and  saw  his  sons  dressed  in 
royal  garments  and  he  saw  all  the 
treasures  that  Joseph  had  sent  to 
them. 

102.  And  they  said  unto  him,  be 
informed  that  our  brother  Joseph  is 
living,  and  it  is  he  who  ruleth  through-, 
out  the  land  of  Egj^pt,  and  it  is  he 
who  spoke  unto  us  as  we  told  thee. 

103.  And  Jacob  heard  all  the  words 
of  his  sons,  and  his  heart  palpitated 
at  their  words,  for  he  could  not  be- 
lieve them  until  he  saw  all  that  Jo- 
seph had  given  them  and  what  he 

12 


had  sent  him,  and  all  the  signs  which 
Joseph  had  spoken  unto  them. 

104.  And  they  opened  out  before 
him,  and  showed  him  all  that  Joseph 
had  sent,  they  gave  unto  each  what 
Joseph  had  sent  him,  and  he  knew 
that  they  had  spoken  the  truth,  and 
he  rejoiced  exceedingly  on  account 
of  his  son. 

105.  And  Jacob  said,  it  is  enough 
for  mc  that  my  son  Joseph  is  still  liv- 
ing, I  will  go  and  see  him  before  I  die. 

106.  And  his  sons  told  him  all 
that  had  befallen  them,  and  Jacob 
said,  I  will  go  down  to  Egypt  to  see 
my  son  and  his  offspring. 

107.  And  Jacob  rose  up  and  put 
on  the  garments  which  Joseph  had 
sent  him,  and  after  he  had  washed, 
and  shaved  his  hair,  he  put  upon  his 
head  the  turban  which  Joseph  had 
sent  him. 

108.  And  all  the  people  of  Jacob's 
house  and  their  wives  put  on  tlie  gar- 
ments which  Joseph  had  sent  to  them, 
and  they  greatly  rejoiced  at  Joseph 
that  he  was  still  living  and  that  he 
was  ruling  in  Egypt. 

109.  And  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Canaan  heard  of  this  thing,  and  they 
came  and  rejoiced  much  with  Jacob 
that  he  was  still  living. 

110.  And  Jacob  made  a  feast  for 
them  for  three  days,  and  all  the  kings 
of  Canaan  and  nobles  of  the  land 
ate  and  drank  and  rejoiced  in  the 
house  of  Jacob. 

CHAPTER  LV. 

1 .  And  it  came  to  pass  after  this 
that  Jacob  said,  I  will  go  and  see  my 
son  in  Egypt  and  will  then  come 
back  to  the  land  of  Canaan  of  which 
God  had  spoken  unto  Abraham,  for 
I  cannot  leave  the  land  of  my  birth- 
place. 


178 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


2.  Behold  the  word  of  the  Lord 
came  unto  hirn,  saying,  go  down  lo 
Egypt  with  all  thy  household  and  re- 
main there,  fear  not  to  go  down  to 
Egypt  for  I  will  there  make  thee 
a  great  nation. 

3.  And  Jacob  said  within  himself, 
I  will  go  and  see  my  son  whether 
the  fear  of  his  God  is  yet  in  his 
heart  amidst  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Egypt. 

4.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Jacob, 
fear  not  about  Joseph,  for  he  still  re- 
taineth  his  integi-ity  to  serve  me,  as 
will  seem  good  in  thy  sight,  and  Ja- 
cob rejoiced  exceedingly  concerning 
his  son. 

5.  At  that  lime  Jacob  commanded 
his  sons  and  household  to  go  to  Egypt 
according  to  the  word  of  the  Lord 
unto  him  ;  and  Jacob  rose  up  with 
his  sons  and  all  his  household,  and 
he  went  out  from  the  land  of  Canaan 
from  Beer-sheba,  with  joy  and  glad- 
ness of  heart,  and  they  went  to  the 
land  of  Egypt. 

6.  And  it  came  to  pass  when  they 
came  near  Egypt,  Jacob  sent  Judah 
before  him  to  Joseph  that  he  might 
show  him  a  situation  in  Egypt,  and 
Judah  did  according  to  the  word  of 
his  father,  and  he  hastened  and  ran 
and  came  to  Joseph,  and  they  as- 
signed for  them  a  place  in  the  land 
of  Goshen  for  all  his  household,  and 
Judah  returned  and  came  along  the 
road  to  his  father. 

7.  And  Joseph  harnessed  the  cha- 
riot, and  he  assembled  all  his  mighty 
men  and  his  servants  and  all  the  of- 
ficers of  Egypt  in  order  to  go  and 
meet  his  father  Jacob,  and  Joseph's 
mandate  was  proclaimed  in  Egypt, 
saying,  all  that  do  not  go  to  meet  Ja- 
cob shall  die. 

8.  And  on  the  next  day  Joseph 
went  forth  with  all  Egypt  a  great  and 


mighty  host,  all  dressed  in  garments 
of  fine  linen  and  purple  and  with  in- 
struments of  silver  and  gold  and  with 
their  instruments  of  war  with  them, 

9.  And  they  all  went  to  meet  Ja- 
cob with  all  sorts  of  musical  instru- 
ments, with  drums  and  timbrels^, 
strewing  myrrh  and  aloes  all  along 
the  road,  and  they  all  went  after  this 
fashion,  and  the  earth  shook  at  their 
shouting. 

10.  And  all  the  women  of  Egypt 
went  upon  the  roofs  of  Egypt  and 
upon  the  w^alls  to  meet  Jacob,  and 
upon  the  head  of  Joseph  was  Phara- 
oh's regal  crown,  for  Pharaoh  had 
sent  it  unto  him  to  put  on  at  the  time 
of  his  going  to  meet  his  father. 

1 1 .  And  when  Joseph  came  within 
fifty  cubits  of  his  father,  he  alighted 
from  the  chariot  and  he  walked  to- 
ward his  father,  and  when  all  the  of- 
ficers of  Egypt  and  her  nobles  saw 
that  Joseph  had  gone  on  foot  toward 
his  father,  they  also  alighted  and 
walked  on  foot  toward  Jacob. 

12.  And  when  Jacob  approached 
the  camp  of  Joseph,  Jacob  observed 
the  camp  that  was  coming  toward 
him  with  Joseph,  and  it  gratified  him 
and  Jacob  was  astonished  at  it. 

13.  And  Jacob  said  unto  Judah, 
who  is  that  man  whom  I  see  in  the 
camp  of  Egypt  dressed  in  kingly 
robes  with  a  very  red  garment  upon 
him  and  a  royal  crown  upon  his  head, 
who  has  alighted  from  his  chariot 
and  is  coming  toward  us  ?  and  Judah 
answered  his  father,  saying,  he  is  thy 
son  Joseph  the  king  ;  and  Jacob  re- 
joiced in  seeing  the  glory  of  his  son. 

14.  And  Joseph  came  nigh  unto 
his  father  and  he  bowed  to  his  father, 
and  all  the  men  of  the  camp  bowed 
to  the  ground  with  him  before  Jacob. 

15.  And  behold  Jacob  ran  and 
hastened  to  his  son  Joseph  and  fell 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


179 


Upon  his  neck  and  kissed  him,  and 
they  wept,  and  Joseph  also  embraced 
his  father  and  kissed  him,  and  they 
wept  and  all  the  people  of  Egypt 
wept  with  them. 

16.  And  Jacob  said  unto  Joseph, 
now  I  will  die  cheerfully  after  I  have 
seen  thy  face,  that  thou  art  still  liv- 
ing and  with  glory. 

17.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  and  their 
wives  and  their  children  and  their 
servants,  and  all  the  household  of 
Jacob  wept  exceedingly  with  Joseph, 
and  they  kissed  him  and  wept 
greatly  with  him. 

1 8.  And  Joseph  and  all  his  people 
returned  afterward  home  to  Egypt, 
and  Jacob  and  his  sons  and  all  the 
children  of  his  household  came  with 
Joseph  to  Egypt,  and  Joseph  placed 
them  in  the  best  part  of  Egypt,  in 
the  land  of  Goshen. 

19.  And  Joseph  said  unto  his  fa- 
ther and  unto  his  brethren,  I  will  go 
up  and  tell  Pharaoh,  saying,  my  bre- 
thren and  my  father's  household  and 
all  belonging  to  them  have  come  unto 
me,  and  behold  they  are  in  the  land 
of  Goshen. 

20.  And  Joseph  did  so  and  took 
from  his  brethren  Reuben,  Issachar 
Zebulun  and  his  brother  Benjamin, 
and  he  placed  them  before  Pharaoh. 

21.  And  Joseph  spoke  unto  Pha- 
raoh, saying,  my  brethren  and  my 
father's  household  and  all  belonging 
to  them  together  with  their  flocks 
and  cattle  have  come  unto  me  from 
the  land  of  Canaan,  to  sojourn  in 
Egypt ;  for  the  famine  was  sore  up- 
on them. 

22.  And  Pharaoli  said  unto  Jo- 
seph, place  thy  father  and  brethren 
in  the  best  part  of  the  land,  withhold 
not  from  them  all  that  is  good,  and 
cause  them  to  eat  of  the  fat  of  the 
land. 


23.  And  Joseph  answered,  saying, 
behold  I  have  stationed  them  in  the 
land  of  Goshen,  for  they  are  shep- 
herds, therefore  let  them  remain  in 
Goshen  to  feed  their  flocks  apart 
from  the  Egyptians. 

24.  And  Pharaoh  said  unto  Joseph, 
do  with  thy  brethren  all  that  they 
shall  say  unto  thee ;  and  the  sons  of 
Jacob  bowed  down  to  Pharaoh,  and 
they  went  forth  from  him  in  peace, 
and  Joseph  afterward  brouglit  his 
father  before  Pharaoh. 

25.  And  Jacob  came  and  bowed 
down  to  Pharaoh,  and  Jacob  blessed 
Pharaoh,  and  he  then  went  out ;  and 
Jacob  and  all  his  sons,  and  all  his 
household  dwelt  in  the  land  of  (loshen. 

26.  In  the  second  year,  that  is'  in 
the  hundred  and  thirtieth  year  of 
the  life  of  Jacob,  Joseph  maintained 
his  father  and  his  brethren,  and  all 
his  father's  household,  with  bread 
according  to  their  little  ones,  all  the 
days  of  the  famine  ;  they  lacked  no- 
thing. 

27.  And  Joseph  gave  unto  them 
the  best  part  of  the  whole  land  ;  the 
best  of  Egypt  had  they  all  the  days 
of  Joseph ;  and  Joseph  also  gave 
unto  them  and  unto  the  whole  of  his 
father's  household,  clothes  and  gar- 
ments year  by  year ;  and  the  sons 
of  Jacob  remained  securely  in  Egypt 
all  the  days«  of  their  brother. 

28.  And  Jacob  always  ate  at  Jo- 
seph's table,  Jacob  and  his  sons  did 
not  leave  Josepii's  table  day  or  night, 
besides  what  Jacob's  children  con- 
sumed in  their  houses. 

29.  And  all  Egypt  ate  bread  dur- 
ing the  days  of  the  famine  from  the 
house  of  Joseph,  for  all  the  Egyp- 
tians sold  all  belonging  to  them  on 
account  of  the  famine. 

30.  And  Joseph  purchased  all  the 
lands  and  fields  of  Eygpt  for  bread 


180 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


on  the  account  of  Pharaoh,  and  Jo- 
seph supphed  all  Egypt  with  bread 
all  the  days  of  the  famine,  and  Jo- 
seph collected  all  the  silver  and  gold 
that  came  unto  him  for  the  corn 
which  they  bought  throughout  the 
land,  and  he  accumulated  much  gold 
and  silver,  besides  an  immense 
quantity  of  onyx  stones,  bdellium 
and  valuable  garments  which  they 
brought  unto  Joseph  from  every  part 
of  the  land  when  their  money  was 
spent. 

31.  And  Joseph  took  of  all  the  sil- 
ver and  gold  that  came  into  his  hand, 
about  seventy  two  talents  of  gold 
and  silver,  and  also  onyx  stones  and 
bdellium  in  great  abundance,  and 
Joi^eph  went  and  concealed  them  in 
four  parts,  and  he  concealed  one 
part  in  the  wilderness  near  the  Red 
sea,  and  one  part  by  the  river  Perath, 
and  the  third  and  fourth  part  he  con- 
cealed in  the  desert  opposite  to  the 
wilderness  of  Persia  and  Media. 

32.  And  he  took  part  of  the  gold 
and  silver  that  was  left,  and  gave  it 
unto  all  his  brothers  and  unto  all  his 
father's  household,  and  unto  all  the 
women  of  his  father's  household,  and 
the  rest  he  brought  to  the  house  of 
Pharaoh,  about  twenty  talents  of 
gold  and  silver. 

33.  And  Joseph  gave  all  the  gold 
and  silver  that  was  left  unto  Pha- 
raoh, and  Pharaoh  placed  it  in  the 
treasury,  and  the  days  of  the  famine 
ceased  after  that  in  the  land,  and 
they  sowed  and  reaped  in  the  whole 
land,  and  they  obtained  their  usual 
quantity  year  by  year  ;  they  lacked 
nothing. 

34.  And  Joseph  dwelt  securely  in 
Egypt,  and  the  whole  land  was  un- 
der his  advice,  and  his  father  and  all 
his  brethren  dwelt  in  the  land  of 
Goshen  and  took  possession  of  it. 


35.  And  Joseph  was  very  aged, 
advanced  in  days,  and  his  two  sons, 
Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  remained 
constantly  in  the  house  of  Jacob,  to- 
gether with  the  children  of  the  sons 
of  Jacob  their  brethren,  to  learn  the 
ways  of  the  Lord  and  his  law. 

36.  And  Jacob  and  his  sons  dwelt 
in  the  land  of  Egypt  in  the  land  of 
Goshen,  and  they  took  possession  in 
it,  and  they  were  fruitful  and  multi- 
plied in  it. 

CHAPTER  LVI. 

1.  And  Jacob  lived  in  the  land  of 
Egypt  seventeen  years,  and  the  days 
of  Jacob,  and  the  years  of  his  life 
were  a  hundred  and  forty  seven 
years. 

2.  At  that  time  Jacob  was  attack- 
ed with  that  illness  of  w^hich  he  died, 
and  he  sent  and  called  for  his  son 
Joseph  from  Egypt,  and  Joseph  his 
son  came  from  Egypt,  and  Joseph 
came  unto  his  father. 

3.  And  Jacob  said  unto  Joseph 
and  unto  his  sons,  behold  I  die,  and 
the  God  of  )'Our  ancestors  will  visit 
you,  and  bring  you  back  to  the  land, 
which  the  Lord  sware  to  give  unto 
you  and  unto  your  children  after  you; 
now  therefore  when  I  am  dead,  bury 
me  in  the  cave  which  is  in  Machpe- 
lah  in  Hebron  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 
near  my  ancestors. 

4.  And  Jacob  made  his  sons 
swear  to  bury  him  in  Machpelah,  in 
Hebron,  and  his  sons  swore  unto  him 
concerning  this  thing. 

5.  And  he  commanded  them,  say- 
ing, serve  the  Lord  your  God,  for  he 
who  delivered  your  fathers  will  also 
deliver  you  from  all  trouble. 

6.  And  Jacob  said,  call  all  your 
children  unto  me,  and  all  the  child- 
ren of  Jacob's  sons  came  and  sat  be- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


181 


fore  him,  and  Jacob  blessed  them, 
and  he  said  unto  them,  the  Lord 
God  of  your  fathers  shall  grant  you 
a  thousand  times  as  much  and  bless 
you,  and  may  he  give  you  the  bless- 
ing of  your  father  Abraham  ;  and  all 
the  children  of  Jacob's  sons  went 
forth  on  that  day  after  he  had  blessed 
them. 

7.  And  on  the  next  day  Jacob 
again  called  for  his  sons,  and  they  all 
assembled  and  came  to  him  and  sat 
before  him,  and  Jacob  on  that  day 
blessed  his  sons  before  his  death, 
each  man  did  he  bless  according  to 
his  blessing ;  behold  it  is  written  in 
the  book  of  the  law  of  the  Lord  ap- 
pertaming  to  Israel. 

8.  And  Jacob  said  unto  Judah,  I 
know  my  son  that  thou  art  a  mighty 
7nan  for  thy  brethren ;  reign  over 
them,  and  thy  sons  shall  reign  over 
their  sons  forever. 

9.  Only  teach  thy  sons  the  bow 
and  all  weapons  of  war,  in  order  that 
they  may  fight  the  battles  of  their 
brother  who  will  rule  over  his  ene- 
mies.* 

10.  And  Jacob  again  commanded 
his  sons  on  that  day,  saying,  behold 
I  shall  be  this  day  gathered  unto 
my  people ;  carry  me  up  from  Egypt, 
and  bury  me  in  the  cave  of  Mach- 
pelah  as  I  have  commanded  you. 

11.  Howbeit  take  heed  I  pray  you 
that  none  of  your  sons  carry  me,  on- 
ly yourselves,  and  this  is  the  manner 
you  shall  do  unto  me,  when  you 
carry  my  body  to  go  with  it  to  the 
land  of  Canaan  to  bury  me. 

12.  Judah,  Issachar  and  Zebulun 
shall  carry  my  bier  at  the  eastern 
side  ;  Reuben,  Simeon  and  Gad  at 
the  south,  Ephraim,  Manasseh  and 
Benjamin  at  the  west,  Dan,  Asher 
and  Naphtali  at  the  north. 

*  See  II  Samuel,  ch.  1,  v.  18. 


13.  Let  not  Levi  carry  with  you, 
for  he  and  his  sons  will  carry  tiie 
ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  with 
the  Israelites  in  the  camp,  neither 
let  Joseph  my  son  carry,  for  as  a 
king  so  let  his  glory  be  ;  howbeit, 
Ephraim  and  Manasseh  shall  be  in 
their  stead.* 

14.  Thus  shall  you  do  unto  me 
when  you  carry  me  away  ;  do  not 
neglect  any  thing  of  all  that  I  com- 
mand you  ;  and  it  shall  come  to  pass 
when  you  do  this  unto  me,  that  the 
Lord  will  remember  you  favorably 
and  your  children  after  you  forever. 

15.  And  you  my  sons,  honor  each 
his  brother  and  his  relative,  and  com- 
mand your  children  and  your  child- 
ren's children  after  you  to  serve  the 
Lord  God  of  your  ancestors  all  the 
days, 

16.  In  order  that  you  may  pro- 
long your  days  in  the  land,  you  and 
your  children  and  your  children's 
children  for  ever,  when  you  do  what 
is  good  and  upright  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord  your  God,  to  go  in  all  his 
ways. 

17.  And  thou,  Joseph  my  son, 
forgive  I  pray  thee  the  wrongs  of  thy 
brethren  and  all  their  misdeeds  in  the 
injury  that  they  heaped  upon  thee, 
for  God  intended  it  for  thine  and  thy 
children's  benefit, 

18.  And  O  my  son  leave  not  thy 
brethren  to  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt, 
neither  hurt  their  feelings,  for  behold 
I  consign  them  to  the  hand  of  God 
and  in  thv  hand  to  guard  them  from 
the  Egyptians  ;  and  the  sons  of  Jacob 
answered  their  father  saying,  O,  our 
father,  all  that  thou  hast  commanded 
us,  so  will  we  do  ;  may  God  only  be 
with  us. 

19.  And  Jacob  said  unto  his  sons, 
so  may  God  be  with  you  when  you 

*  Instead  of  Levi  and  Joseph. 


182 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


keep  all  his  ways  ;  turn  not  from  his 
ways  either  to  the  right  or  the  left 
in  performing  what  is  good  and  up- 
right in  his  sight. 

20.  For  I  know  that  many  and 
grievous  troubles  will  befall  you  in 
the  latter  days  in  the  land,  yea  your 
children  and  children's  children;  only 
serve  the  Lord  and  he  will  save  you 
from  all  trouble. 

21.  And  it  shall  come  tb  pass 
when  you  shall  go  after  God  to  serve 
him  and  will  teach  your  children  after 
you,  and  your  children's  children, 
to  know  the  Lord,  then  will  the  Lord 
raise  up  unto  you  and  your  children 
a  servant  from  amongst  your  chil- 
dren, and  the  Lord  will  deliver  you 
through  his  hand  from  all  affliction, 
and  bring  you  out  of  Egypt  and 
bring  you  back  to  the  land  of  your 
fathers  to  inherit  it  securely. 

22.  And  Jacob  ceased  command- 
ing his  sons,  and  he  drew  his  feet 
into  the  bed,  he  died  and  was 
gathered  to  his  people. 

23.  And  Joseph  fell  upon  his 
father  and  he  cried  out  and  wept 
over  him  and  he  kissed  him,  and  he 
called  out  in  a  bitter  voice,  and  he 
said,  0  my  father,  my  father. 

24.  And  his  sons'  wives  and  all 
his  household  came  and  fell  upon 
Jacob,  and  they  wept  over  him,  and 
cried  in  a  very  loud  voice  concerning 
Jacob. 

25.  And  all  the  sons  of  Jacob 
rose  up  together,  and  they  tore  their 
garments,  and  they  all  put  sackcloth 
upon  their  loins,  and  they  fell  upon 
their  faces,  and  they  cast  dust  upon 
their  heads  toward  the  heavens. 

26.  And  the  thing  was  told  unto 
Osnath  Joseph's  wife,  and  she  rose 
up  and  put  on  a  sack  and  she  with  all 
the  Egyptian  women  with  her  came 
and  mourned  and  wept  for  Jacob. 


27.  And  also  all  the  people  of 
Egypt  who  knew  Jacob  came  all  on 
that  day  when  they  heard  this  thing, 
and  all  Egypt  wept  for  many  days. 

28.  And  also  from  the  land  of 
Canaan  did  the  women  come  unto 
Egypt  when  they  heard  that  Jacob 
was  dead,  and  they  wept  for  him  in 
Egypt  for  seventy  days. 

29.  And  it  came  to  pass  after  this 
that  Joseph  commanded  his  servants 
the  doctors  to  embalm  his  father 
with  myrrh  and  frankincense  and 
all  manner  of  incense  and  perfume, 
and  the  doctors  embalmed  Jacob  as 
Joseph  had  commanded  them. 

30.  And  all  the  people  of  Egypt 
and  the  elders  and  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  land  of  Goshen  wept  and 
mourned  over  Jacob,  and  all  his  sons 
and  the  children  of  his  household 
lamented  and  mourned  over  their 
father  Jacob  many  days. 

31.  And  after  the  days  of  his 
weeping  had  passed  away,  at  the 
end  of  seventy  days,  Joseph  said 
unto  Pharaoh,  I  will  go  up  and  bury 
my  father  in  the  land  of  Canaan  as 
he  made  me  swear,  and  then  I  will 
return. 

32.  And  Pharaoh  sent  Joseph, 
saying,  go  up  and  bury  thy  father  as 
he  said,  and  as  he  made  thee  swear; 
and  Joseph  rose  up  with  all  his  bre- 
thren to  go  to  the  land  of  Canaan  to 
bury  their  father  Jacob  as  he  had 
commanded  them. 

33.  And  Pharaoh  commanded  that 
it  should  be  proclaimed  throughout 
Egypt,  saying,  whoever  goeth  not  up 
with  Joseph  and  his  brethren  to  the 
land  of  Canaan  to  bury  Jacob,  shall 
die. 

34.  And  all  Egypt  heard  of  Pha- 
raoh's proclamation,  and  they  all  rose 
up  together,  and  all  the  servants  of 
Pharaoh,  and  the  elders  of  his  house. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER 


183 


and  all  the  elders  of  the  land  of  Egypt 
went  up  with  Joseph,  and  all  the  of- 
ficers and  nobles  of  Pharaoh  went 
up  as  the  servants  of  Joseph,  and 
ihey  went  to  bury  Jacob  in  the  land 
of  Canaan. 

35.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  carried 
the  bier  upon  which  he  lay  ;  accord- 
ing to  all  that  their  father  commanded 
them,  so  did  his  sons  unto  him. 

36.  And  the  bier  was  of  pure  gold, 
and  it  was  inlaid  round  about  with 
onyx  stones  and  bdellium  ;  and  the 
covering  of  the  bier  was  gold  woven 
work,  joined  with  threads,  and  over 
them  were  hooks  of  onyx  stones  and 
bdellium. 

37.  And  Joseph  placed  upon  the 
head  of  his  father  Jacob  a  large  gold- 
en crown,  and  he  put  a  golden  scep- 
tre in  his  hand,  and  they  surrounded 
the  bier  as  was  the  custom  of  kings 
during  their  lives. 

38.  And  all  the  troops  of  Egypt 
went  before  him  in  this  array,  at  first 
all  the  mighty  men  of  Pharaoh  and 
the  mighty  men  of  Joseph,  and  after 
them  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Egypt,  and  they  were  all  girded  with 
swords  and  equipped  with  coats  of 
mail,  and  the  trappings  of  war  were 
upon  them. 

39.  And  all  the  weepers  and 
mourners  went  at  a  distance  opposite 
to  the  bier,  going  and  weeping  and 
lamenting,  and  the  rest  of  the  people 
went  after  the  bier. 

40.  And  Joseph  and  his  household 
went  together  near  the  bier  barefooted 
and  weeping,  and  the  rest  of  Joseph's 
servants  went  around  him  ;  each  man 
had  his  ornaments  upon  him,  and  they 
were  all  armed  with  their  weapons  of 
war. 

41.  And  fifty  of  Jacob's  servants 
went  in  front  of  the  bier,  and  they 
strewed  along  the  road  myrrh  and 


aloes,  and  all  manner  of  perfume, 
and  all  the  sons  of  Jacob  that  carried 
the  bier  walked  upon  the  perfumery, 
and  the  servants  of  Jacob  went  before 
them  strewing  the  perfume  along  the 
road. 

42.  And  Joseph  went  up  with  a 
heavy  camp,  and  they  did  after  this 
manner  every  day  until  they  reached 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  tliey  came 
to  the  threshing  floor  of  Atad,  which 
was  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan,  and 
they  mourned  an  exceeding  great  and 
heavy  mourning  in  that  place. 

43.  And  all  the  kings  of  Canaan 
heard  of  this  thing  and  they  all  went 
forth,  each  man  from  his  house,  thirty- 
one  kings  of  Canaan,  and  they  all 
came  with  their  men  to  mourn  and 
weep  over  Jacob. 

44.  And  all  these  kings  beheld  Ja- 
cob's bier,  and  behold  Joseph's  crown 
was  upon  it,  and  they  also  put  their 
crowns  upon  the  bier,  and  encircled 
it  with  crowns. 

45.  And  all  these  kings  made  in 
that  place  a  great  and  heavy  mourn- 
ing with  the  sons  of  Jacob  and  Egypt 
over  Jacob,  for  all  the  kings  of  Ca- 
naan knew  the  valor  of  Jacob  and  his 
sons. 

46.  And  the  report  reached  Esau, 
saying,  Jacob  died  in  Egypt,  and  his 
sons  and  all  Egypt  are  conveying  him 
to  the  land  of  Canaan  to  bury  him. 

47.  And  Esau  heard  this  thing, 
and  he  was  dwelling  in  mount  Seir, 
and  he  rose  up  with  his  sons  and  all 
his  people  and  all  his  household,  a 
people  exceedingly  great,  and  they 
came  to  mourn  and  weep  over  Jacob. 

48.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
Esau  came  he  mourned  for  his  bro- 
ther Jacob,  and  all  Egypt  and  all 
Canaan  again  rose  up  and  mourned 
a  great  mourning  with  Esau  over  Ja- 
cob in  that  place. 


184 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


49.  And  Joseph  and  his  brethren 
brought  their  father  Jacob  from  that 
place,  and  they  went  to  Hebron  to 
bury  Jacob  in  the  cave  by  his  fathers. 

50.  And  they  came  unto  Kireath- 
arba,  to  the  cave,  and  as  they  came 
Esau  stood  with  his  sons  against  Jo- 
seph and  his  brethren  as  an  hindrance 
in  the  cave,  saying,  Jacob  shall  not 
be  buried  therein,  for  it  belongeth  to 
us  and  to  our  father. 

51.  And  Joseph  and  his  brethren 
heard  the  words  of  Esau's  sons,  and 
they  were  exceedingly  wroth,  and 
Joseph  approached  unto  Esau,  say- 
ing, what  is  this  thing  which  they 
have  spoken  ?  surely  my  father  Jacob 
bought  it  from  thee  for  great  riches 
after  the  death  of  Isaac,  now*  five 
and  twenty  years  ago,  and  also  all 
the  land  of  Canaan  he  bought  from 
thee  and  from  thy  sons,  and  thy  seed 
after  thee. 

52.  And  Jacob  bought  it  for  his 
sons  and  his  seed  after  him  for  an  in- 
heritance for  ever,  and  why  speakest 
thou  these  things  this  day  ? 

53.  And  Esau  answered,  saying, 
thou  speakest  falsely  and  utterest 
lies,  for  I  sold  not  anything  belonging 
to  me  in  all  this  land,  as  thou  sayest, 
neither  did  my  brother  Jacob  buy 
aught  belonging  to  me  in  this  land. 

*  From  this  it  appears  that  the  sale  did  not 
take  place  until  two  years  after  Isaac's  death, 
because  there  were  twenty  seven  years  between 
Isaac's  and  Jacob's  deaths,  for  when  Isaac  died 
at  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  eighty,  Jacob  was 
one  hundred  and  twenty,  and  Jacob  died  aged 
one  hundred  and  forty  seven,  consequently 
twenty  seven  years  elapsed ;  the  purchase  of 
the  cave  of  Machpelah  is  also  mentioned  in  the 
book  of  Jasher  when  Jacob  bought  Esau's  birth- 
right, see  ch.  27,  but  it  was  all  inserted  afresh 
in  the  new  contract  mentioned  in  ch.  47 ;  and 
this  is  corroborated  in  the  57th  verse  of  this 
chapter,  where  Joseph  tells  Naphtali  to  bring 
"all  the  records,  the  records  of  the  purchase, 
the  sealed  up  one  and  the  open  one,  also  all  the 
first  books  in  which  are  written  all  the  words 
of  the  birthright." 


54.  And  Esau  spoke  these  things  ' 
in  order  to  deceive  Joseph  with  hiis 
words,  for  Esau  knew  that  Joseph 
was  not  present  in  those  days  when 
Esau  sold  all  belonging  to  him  in  the 
land  of  Canaan  to  Jacob. 

55.  And  Joseph  said  unto  Esau, 
surely  my  father  inserted  these  things 
with  thee  in  the  record  of  purchase, 
and  testified  the  record  with  witness- 
es, and  behold  it  is  with  us  in  Egypt. 

56.  And  Esau  answered,  saying 
unto  him,  bring  the  record,  all  that 
thou  wilt  find  in  the  record,  so  will 
we  do. 

57.  And  Joseph  called  unto  Naph- 
tali his  brother,  and  he  said,  hasten 
quickly,  stay  not,  and  run  I  pray  thee 
to  Egypt  and  bring  all  the  records  ; 
the  record  of  the  purchase,  the  sealed 
record  and  the  open  record,  and  also 
all  the  first  records  in  which  all  the 
transactions  of  the  birth-right  are 
written,  fetch  thou. 

58.  And  thou  shalt  bring  them 
unto  us  hither,  that  we  may  know  from 
them  all  the  words  of  Esau  and  his 
sons  which  they  spoke  this  day. 

59.  And  Naphtali  hearkened  to 
the  voice  of  Joseph  and  he  hastened 
and  ran  to  go  down  to  Egypt,  and 
Naphtali  was  lighter  on  foot  than 
any  of  the  stags  that  were  upon  the 
wilderness,  for  he  would  go  upon 
ears  of  corn  without  crushing  them. 

60.  And  when  Esau  saw  that 
Naphtali  had  gone  to  fetch  the  re- 
cords he  and  his  sons  increased 
their  resistance  against  the  cave,  and 
Esau  and  all  his  people  rose  up 
against  Joseph  and  his  brethren  to 
battle. 

61.  And  all  the  sons  of  Jacob  and 
the  people  of  Egypt  fought  with 
Esau  and  his  men,  and  the  sons  of 
Esau  and  his  people  were  smitten 
before  the  sons  of  Jacob,  and  the 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


185 


sons  of  Jacob  slew  of  Esau's  people 
forty  men. 

62.  And  Chushim  the  son  of  Dan, 
llie  son  of  Jacob,  was  at  that  time 
will]  Jacob's  sons,  but  he  was  about  a 
hundred  cubits  distant  from  the  place 
of  battle,  for  he  remained  with  the 
children  of  Jacob's  sons  by  Jacob's 
bier  to  guard  it. 

63.  And  Chushim  was  dumb  and 
deaf,  still  he  understood  the  voice  of 
consternation  amongst  the  men. 

64.  And  he  asked,  saying,  why  do 
yo\i  not  bury  the  dead  arid  what  is 
this  great  consternation?  and  they 
answered  him  the  words  of  Esau 
and  his  sons;  and  he  ran  to  Esau 
in  the  midst  of  the  battle,  and  he 
slew  Esau  with  a  sword,  and  he  cut 
off  his  head,  and  it  sprang  to  a  dis- 
tance, and  Esau  fell  amongst  the  peo- 
ple of  the  battle. 

65.  And  when  Chushim  did  this 
thing  the  sons  of  Jacob  prevailed 
over  the  sons  of  Esau,  and  the  sons 
of  Jacob  buried  their  father  Jacob 
by  force  in  the  cave,  and  the  sons  of 
Esau  beheld  it. 

66.  And  Jacob  was  buried  in  He- 
bron, in  the  cave  of  Machpelah 
which  Abraham  had  bought  from  the 
sons  of  Heth  for  the  possession  of  a 
burial  place,  and  he  was  buried  in 
very  costly  garments. 

67.  And  no  king  had  such  honor 
paid  him  as  Joseph  paid  unto  his  fa- 
ther at  his  death,  for  he  buried  him 
with  great  honor  like  unto  the  bu- 
rial of  kings. 

68.  And  Joseph  and  his  brethren 
made  a  mourning  of  seven  days  for 
their  father. 

CHAPTER   LVH. 

1 .  And  it  was  after  this  that  the 
sons  of  Esau  waged  war  with  the 


sons  of  Jacob,  and  the  sons  of  Esau 
fouglit  with  the  sons  of  Jacob  in  He- 
bron, and  Esau  was  still  lying  dead, 
and  not  buried. 

2.  And  the  battle  w^s  heavy  be- 
tween them,  and  the  sons  of  Esau 
were  smitten  before  the  sons  of  Ja- 
cob, and  the  sons  of  Jacob  slew  of 
the  sons  of  Esau  eighty  men,  and  not 
one  died  of  the  people  of  the  sons  of 
Jacob  ;  and  the  hand  of  Joseph  pre- 
vailed over  all  the  people  of  the  sons 
of  Esau,  and  he  took  Zcpho,  the 
son  of  Ehphaz,  the  son  of  Esau, 
and  fifty  of  his  men  captive,  and  he 
bound  them  with  chains  of  iron,  and 
gave  them  into  the  hand  of  his  ser- 
vants to  bring  them  to  Egypt. 

3.  And  it  came  to  pass  when  the 
sons  of  Jacob  had  taken  Zepho  and 
his  people  captive,  all  those  that  re- 
mained were  greatly  afraid  of  their 
lives  from  the  house  of  Esau,  lest 
they  should  also  be  taken  captive, 
and  they  all  fled  with  Eliphaz  the 
son  of  Esau  and  his  people,  with 
Esau's  body,  and  they  went  on  their 
road  to  mount  Seir. 

4.  And  they  came  unto  mount  Seir 
and  thev  buried  Esau  in  Scir,butthey 
iiad  not  brought  his  head  with  them 
to  Seir,  for  it  was  buried  in  that 
place  where  the  battle  had  been  in 
Hebron. 

5.  And  it  came  to  pass  when  the 
sons  of  Esau  had  fled  from  before 
the  sons  of  Jacob,  the  sons  of  Jacob 
pursued  them  unto  the  borders  of 
Seir,  but  they  did  not  slay  a  single 
man  from  amongst  them  when  they 
pursued  them,  for  Esau's  body  which 
they  carried  with  them  excited  their 
confusion,  so  they  fled  and  the  sons 
of  Jacob  turned  back  from  them  and 
came  up  to  the  place  where  their 
brethren  were  in  Hebron,  and  they 
remained  there  on  that  day,  and  on 


186 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


the  next  day  until  they  rested  from 
the  battle. 

6.  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  third 
day  they  assembled  all  the  sons  of 
Seir  the  Hgrite,  and  they  assembled 
all  the  clildren  of  the  east,  a  multi- 
tude of  people  like  the  sand  of  the 
sea,  and  they  went  and  came  down 
to  Egypt  to  light  with  Joseph  and  his 
brethren,  in  order  to  deliver  their 
brethren. 

7.  And  Joseph  and  all  the  sons 
of  Jacob  heard  that  the  sons  of  Esau 
and  the  children  of  the  east  had 
come  upon  them  to  battle  in  order  to 
deliver  their  brethren. 

8.  And  Joseph  and  his  brethren 
and  the  strong  men  of  Egypt  went 
forth  and  fougiu  in  the  city  of 
Raamses,  and  Joseph  and  his  bre- 
thren dealt  out  a  tremendous  blow 
amongst  the  sons  of  Esau  and  the 
children  of  the  east. 

9.  And  they  slew  of  them  six 
hundred  thousand  men,  and  they  slew 
amongst  them  all  the  mighty  me7i  of 
the  children  of  Seir  the  Horite  ;  there 
were  only  a  few  of  them  left,  and 
they  slew  also  a  great  many  of  the 
children  of  the  east,  and  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Esaii ;  and  Eliphaz  the  son 
of  Esau  and  the  children  of  the  east 
all  fled  before  Joseph  and  his  bre- 
thren. 

10.  And  Joseph  and  his  brethren 
pursued  them  until  thev  came  unto 
Succolh,  and  they  yet  slew  of  them 
in  Succoth  thirty  men,  and  the  rest 
escaped  and  they  fled  each  to  his 
city. 

11.  And  Joseph  and  his  brethren 
and  the  mighty  men  of  Egypt  turned 
back  from  them  with  joy  and  cheer- 
fulness of  heart,  for  they  had  smitten 
all  their  enemies. 

12.  And  Zepho  the  son  of  Eli- 
phaz and  his  men  were  still  slaves  in 


Egypt  to  the  sons  of  Jacob,  and  their 
pains  increased. 

13.  And  when  the  sons  of  Esau 
and  the  sons  of  Seir  returned  to  their 
land,  the  sons  of  Seir  saw  that  they 
had  all  fallen  into  the  hand  of  the 
sons  of  Jacob,  and  the  j)eople  of 
Egypt,  on  account  of  the  battle  of 
the  sons  of  Esau. 

14.  And  the  sons  of  Seir  said  unto 
the  sons  of  Esau,  you  have  seen  and 
therefore  you  know  that  this  camp 
was  on  your  account,  and  not  one 
mighty  man  or  an  adept  in  war  re- 
mainelh. 

15.  Now  therefore  go  forth  from 
our  land,  go  from  us  to  the  land  of 
Canaan  to  the  land  of  the  dwelling 
of  your  fathers ;  wherefore  shall 
your  children  inherit  the  effects  of 
our  children  in  latter  days  ? 

16.  And  the  children  of  Esau 
would  not  listen  to  the  children  of 
Seir,  and  the  children  of  Seir  con- 
sidered to  make  war  with  them. 

17.  And  the  children  of  Esau  sent 
secretly  to  Angeas  king  of  Africa, 
the  same  is  Dinhabah,  saying, 

18.  Send  unto  us  some  of  thy 
men  and  let  them  come  unto  us,  and 
we  will  fight  together  with  the  child- 
ren of  Seir  the  Horite,  for  they  have 
resolved  to  fight  with  us  to  drive  us 
away  from  the  land. 

19.  And  Angeas  king  of  Dinhabah 
did  so,  for  he  was  in  those  days 
friendly  to  the  children  of  Esau,  and 
Angeas  sent  five  hundred  valiant 
infantry  to  the  children  of  Esau,  and 
eight  hundred  cavalry. 

20.  And  the  children  of  Seir  sent 
unto  the  children  of  the  east  and  un- 
to the  children  of  Midian,  saying, 
you  have  seen  what  the  children  of 
Esau  have  done  unto  us,  upon  whose 
account  we  are  ahnost  all  destroyed, 
in  their  battle  with  the  sons  of  Jacob. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


187 


21.  Now  therefore  come  unto  us 
and  assist  us,  and  we  will  fight  them 
together,  and  we  will  drive  them 
from  the  land  and  be  avenged  of  the 
cause  of  our  brethren  who  died  for 
their  sakes  in  their  battle  with  their 
brethren  the  sons  of  Jacob. 

22.  And  all  the  children  of  the 
east  listened  to  the  children  of  Seir, 
and  they  came  unto  them  about  eight 
hundred  men  with  drawn  swords, 
and  the  children  of  Esau  fought  with 
the  children  of  JSeir  at  that  time  in 
the  wilderness  of  Paran. 

23.  And  the  children  of  Seir  pre- 
vailed then  over  the  sons  of  Esau, 
and  the  children  of  Seir  slew  on  that 
day  of  the  children  of  Esau  in  that 
baltle  about  two  hundred  men  of  the 
people  of  Angeas  king  of  Dinhabah. 

24.  And  on  the  second  day  the 
children  of  Esau  came  again  to  fight 
a  second  time  with  the  children  of 
Seir,  and  the  battle  was  sore  upon 
the  children  of  Esau  this  second 
time,  and  it  troubled  them  greatly 
on  account  of  the  children  of  Seir. 

25.  And  when  the  children  of 
Esau  saw  that  the  children  of  Seir 
were  more  powerful  than  they  were, 
some  men  of  the  children  of  Esau 
turned  and  assisted  the  children  of 
Seir  their  enemies. 

26.  And  there  fell  yet  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  children  of  Esau  in  the 
second  battle  fifty  eight  men  of  the 
people  of  Angeas  king  of  Dinhabah. 

27.  And  on  the  third  day  the  child- 
ren of  Esau  heard  that  some  of  their 
brethren  had  turned  from  them  to 
fight  against  them  in  the  second 
battle  ;  and  the  children  of  Esau 
mourned  when  they  heard  this  thing. 

28.  And  they  said,  what  shall  we 
do  unto  our  brethren  who  turned 
from  us  to  assist  the  children  of  Seir 
our  enemies  ?  and  the   children  of 


Esau  again  sent  to  Angeas  king  of 
Dinhabah,  saying, 

29.  Send  unto  us  again  other  men 
that  with  them  we  may  fight  with  the 
children  of  Seir,  for  they  have  already 
twice  been  heavier  than  we  were. 

30.  And  Angeas  again  sent  to  the 
children  of  Esau  about  six  hundred 
valiant  men,  and  they  came  to  assist 
the  children  of  Esau. 

31.  And  in  ten  days'  time  the 
children  of  Esau  again  waged  war 
with  the  children  of  Seir  in  the  wil- 
derness of  Paran,  and  the  battle  was 
very  severe  upon  the  children  of 
Seir,  and  the  children  of  Esau  pre- 
vailed at  this  time  over  the  children 
of  Seir,  and  the  children  of  Seir 
were  smitten  before  the  children  of 
Esau,  and  the  children  of  Esau  slew 
from  them  about  two  thousand  men. 

32.  And  all  the  mighty  men  of 
the  children  of  Seir  died  in  this 
battle,  and  there  only  remained  their 
young  children  that  were  left  in  their 
cities. 

83.  And  all  Midian  and  the  child- 
ren of  the  east  betook  themselves  to 
flight  from  the  battle,  and  they  left 
the  children  of  Seir  and  fled  when 
they  saw  that  the  baltle  was  severe 
upon  them,  and  the  children  of  Esau 
pursued  all  the  children  of  the  east 
until  they  reached  their  land. 

34.  And  the  children  of  Esau  slew 
yet  of  them  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  men  and  from  the  people  of  the 
children  of  Esau  there  fell  in  that 
battle  about  thirty  men,  but  this  evil 
came  upon  them  through  their  bre- 
thren turning  from  them  to  assist  the 
children  of  Seir  the  Horite,  and  the 
children  of  Esau  again  heard  of  the 
evil  doings  of  their  brethren,  and 
they  again  mourned  on  account  of 
this  thing. 

35.  And  it  came  to  pass  after  the 


188 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


battle,  the  children  of  Esau  turned 
back  and  came  home  unto  Seir,  and 
the  children  of  Esau  slew  those  who 
had  remained  in  the  land  of  the 
children  of  Seir ;  they  slew  also 
their  wives  and  little  ones,  they  left 
not  a  soul  alive  excepting  fifty  young 
lads  and  damsels  whom  they  suffer- 
ed to  live,  and  the  children  of  Esau 
did  not  put  them  to  death,  and  the 
lads  became  their  slaves,  and  the 
damsels  they  took  for  wives. 

36.  And  the  children  of  Esau 
dwelt  in  Seir  in  the  place  of  the 
cliildren  of  Seir,  and  they  inherited 
their  land  and  took  possession  of  it. 

37.  And  the  children  of  Esau  took 
all  belonging  in  the  land  to  the  child- 
ren of  Seir,  also  their  flocks,  their 
bullocks  and  their  goods,  and  all 
belonging  to  the  children  of  Seir, 
did  the  children  of  Esau  take,  and 
the  children  of  Esau  dwelt  in  Seir 
in  the  place  of  the  children  of  Seir 
unto  this  day,  and  the  children  of 
Esau  divided'  the  land  into  divisions 
to  the  five  sons  of  Esau,  according 
to  their  families. 

38.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  those 
days,  that  the  children  of  Esau  re- 
solved to  crown  a  king  over  them  in 
the  land  of  which  they  became  pos- 
sessed. And  they  said  to  each  other, 
not  so,  for  he  shall  reign  over  us  in 
our  land,  and  we  shall  be  under  his 
counsel  and  he  shall  fight  our  battles, 
against  our  enemies,  and  they  did  so. 

39.  And  all  the  children  of  Esau 
swore,  saying  that  none  of  their 
brethren  should  ever  reign  over  them, 
but  a  strange  man  who  is  not  of  their 
brethren,  for  the  souls  of  all  the 
children  of  Esau  were  embittered 
every  man  against  his  son,  brother  and 
friend,  on  account  of  the  evil  they 
sustained  from  their  brethren  when 
they  fought  with  the  children  of  Seir. 


40.  Therefore  the  sons  of  Esau 
swore,  saying,  from  that  day  for- 
ward they  would  not  choose  a  king 
from  their  brethren,  but  one  from  a 
strange  land  unto  this  day. 

41.  And  there  was  a  man  there 
from  the  people  of  Angeas  king  of 
Dinhabah;  his  name  was  Bela  the 
son  of  Beor,  who  was  a  very  valiant 
man,  beautiful  and  comely  and  wise 
in  all  wisdom  and  a  man  of  sense 
and  counsel ;  and  there  was  none  of 
the  people  of  Angeas  like  unto  him. 

42.  And  all  the  children  of  Esau 
took  him  and  anointed  him  and  they 
crowned  him  for  a  king,  and  they 
bowed  down  to  him,  and  they  said 
unto  him,  may  the  king  live,  may 
the  king  live. 

43.  And  they  spread  out  the  sheet, 
and  they  brought  him  each  man  ear 
rings  of  gold  and  silver  or  rings  or 
bracelets,  and  they  made  him  very 
rich  in  silver  and  in  gold,  in  onyx 
stones  and  bdellium,  and  they  made 
him  a  royal  throne,  and  they  placed 
a  regal  crown  upon  his  head,  and 
they  built  a  palace  for  him  and  he 
dwelt  therein,  and  he  became  king 
over  all  the  children  of  Esau. 

44.  And  the  people  of  Angeas 
took  their  hire  for  their  battle  from 
the  children  of  Esau,  and  they  went 
and  returned  at  that  time  to  their 
master  in  Dinhabah. 

45.  And  Bela  reigned  over  the 
children  of  Esau  thirty  years,  and 
the  children  of  Esau  dwelt  in  the 
land  instead  of  the  children  of  Seir, 
and  they  dwelt  securely  in  their 
stead  unto  this  day. 

CHAPTER  LVIII. 

1.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the 
thirty  second  year  of  the  Israelites 
going  down  to  Egypt,  that  is  in  the 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


189 


seventy  first  year  of  the  life  of 
Joseph,  in  that  year  died  Pharaoli 
king  of  Egypt,  and  Magron  his  son 
reigned  in  his  stead. 

2.  And  Pharaoh  commanded  Jo- 
seph before  his  death  to  be  a  father 
to  his  son  Magron,  and  that  Magron 
should  be  \mder  the  care  of  Joseph 
and  under  his  counsel. 

3.  And  all  Eg}'pt  consented  to 
this  thing  that  Joseph  should  be 
king  over  them,  for  all  the  Egyptians 
loved  Joseph  as  of  heretofore,  only 
Magron  the  son  of  Pharaoh  sat  upon 
his  father's  throne,  and  he  became 
king  in  those  days  in  his  father's 
stead. 

4.  Magron  was  forty  one  years 
old  when  he  began  to  reign,  and  forty 
years  he  reigned  in  Egypt,  and  all 
Egypt  called  his  name  Pharaoh  after 
the  name  of  his  father,  as  it  was 
their  custom  to  do  in  Egypt  to  every 
king  that  reigned  over  them. 

5.  And  it  came  to  pass  when  Pha- 
raoh reigned  in  his  father's  stead,  he 
placed  the  laws  of  Egypt  and  all  the 
affairs  of  government  in  the  hand  of 
Joseph,  as  his  father  had  commanded 
him. 

6.  And  Joseph  became  king  over 
Egypt,  for  he  superintended  over  all 
Egypt,  and  all  Egypt  was  under  his 
care  and  under  his  counsel,  for  all 
Egypt  inclined  to  Joseph  after  the 
death  of  Pharaoh,  and  they  loved 
him  exceedingly  to  reign  over  them. 

7.  But  there  were  some  people 
amongst  them,  who  did  not  like  him, 
saying,  no  stranger  shall  reign  over 
us  ;  still  the  whole  government  of 
Egypt  devolved  in  those  days  upon 
Joseph,  after  the  death  of  Pharaoh, 
he  being  the  regulator,  doing  as  he 
liked  throughout  the  land  without 
any  one  interfering. 

8.  And  all  Egypt  was  under  the 


care  of  Joseph,  and  Joseph  made 
war  with  all  his  surrounding  enemies, 
and  he  subdued  ihem  ;  also  all  the 
land  and  all  the  Philistines,  unto  the 
borders  of  Canaan,  did  Joseph  sub- 
due, and  they  were  all  under  his 
power  and  they  gave  a  yearly  tax 
unto  Joseph. 

9.  And  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt 
sal  upon  his  throne  in  his  father's 
stead,  but  he  was  under  the  control 
and  counsel  of  Joseph,  as  he  was  at 
first  under  the  control  of  his  father. 

10.  Neither  did  he  reign  but  in 
the  land  of  Egypt  only,  under  the 
counsel  of  Joseph,  but  Joseph  reign- 
ed over  the  whole  country  at  that 
time,  from  Egypt  unto  the  great  river 
Perath. 

11.  And  Joseph  was  successful 
in  all  his  ways,  and  the  Lord  was 
with  him,  and  the  Lord  gave  Joseph 
additional  wisdom,  and  honor,  and 
glory  and  love  toward  him  in  the 
hearts  of  the  Egyptians  and  through- 
out the  land,  and  Joseph  reigned  over 
the  whole  country  forty  years. 

12.  And  all  the  countries  of  the 
Philistines  and  Canaan  and  Zidon, 
and  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan, 
brought  presents  unto  Joseph  all  his 
days,  and  the  whole  country  was  in 
the  hand  of  Joseph,  and  they  brought 
unto  him  a  yearly  tribute  as  it  was 
regulated,  for  Joseph  had  fought 
against  all  his  surrounding  enemies 
and  subdued  them,  and  the  whole 
country  was  in  the  hand  of  Joseph, 
and  Joseph  sat  securely  upon  his 
throne  in  Egypt. 

13.  And  also  all  his  brethren  the 
sons  of  Jacob  dwelt  securely  in  the 
land,  all  the  days  of  Joseph,  and  they 
were  fruitful  and  multiplied  exceed- 
ingly in  the  land,  and  they  served 
the  Lord  all  their  days,  as  their 
father  Jacob  had  commanded  them. 


190 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


14.  And  it  came  to  pass  at  the 
end  of  many  days  and  years,  when 
the  children  of  Esau  were  dwelhng 
quietly  in  their  land  with  Bela  their 
king,  that  the  children  of  Esau  were 
fruitful  and  multiplied  in  the  land, 
and  they  resolved  to  go  and  fight  with 
the  sons  of  Jacob  and  all  Egypt,  and 
to  deliver  their  brother  Zepho,  the 
son  of  Eliphaz,  and  his  men,  for  they 
were  yet  in  those  days  slaves  to  Jo- 
seph. 

15.  And  the  children  of  Esau  sent 
unto  all  the  children  of  the  east,  and 
they  made  peace  with  them,  and  all  the 
children  of  the  east  came  unto  them 
to  go  with  the  children  of  Esau  to 
Egypt  to  battle. 

16.  And  there  came  also  unto  them 
of  the  people  of  Angeas,  king  of  Din- 
habah,  and  they  also  sent  unto  the 
children  of  Ishmael  and  they  also 
came  unto  them. 

17.  And  all  this  people  assembled 
and  came  unto  Seir  to  assist  the  chil- 
dren of  Esau  in  their  battle,  and  this 
camp  was  very  large  and  heavy  with 
people,  numerous  as  the  sand  of  the 
sea,  about  eight  hundred  thousand 
men,  infantry  and  cavalry,  and  all 
these  troops  went  down  to  Egypt  to 
fight  with  the  sons  of  Jacob,  and  they 
encamped  by  Raamses. 

1 8.  And  Joseph  went  forth  with  his 
brethren  with  the  mighty  men  of 
Egypt,  about  six  hundred  men,  and 
they  fought  with  them  in  the  land  of 
Raamses  ;  and  the  sons  of  Jacob  at 
that  time  again  fought  with  the  chil- 
dren of  Esau,  in  the  fiftieth  year  of 
the  sons  of  Jacob  going  down  to 
Egypt,  that  is  the  thirtieth  year  of 
the  reign  of  Bela  over  the  children 
of  Esau  in  Seir. 

19.  And  the  Lord  gave  all  the 
mighty  men  of  Esau  and  the  children 
of  the  east  into  the  hand  of  Joseph 


and  his  brethren,  and  the  people  of 
the  children  of  Esau  and  the  children 
of  the  east  were  smitten  before  Jo- 
seph. 

20.  And  of  the  people  of  Esau  and 
the  children  of  the  east  that  were 
slain,  there  fell  before  the  sons  of  Ja- 
cob about  two  hundred  thousand 
men,  and  their  king  Bela  the  son  of 
Beor  fell  with  them  in  the  battle,  and 
when  the  children  of  Esau  saw  that 
their  king  had  fallen  in  battle  and 
was  dead,  their  hands  became  weak 
in  the  combat. 

21.  And  Joseph  and  his  brethren 
and  all  Egypt  were  still  smiting  the 
people  of  the  house  of  Esau,  and  all 
Esau's  people  were  afraid  of  the  sons 
of  Jacob  and  fled  from  before  them, 

22.  And  Joseph  and  his  brethren 
and  all  Egypt  pursued  them  a  day's 
journey,  and  they  slew  yet  from 
them  about  three  hundred  men,  con- 
tinuing to  smite  them  in  the  road  ; 
and  they  afterward  turned  back  from 
them. 

23.  And  Joseph  and  all  his  bre- 
thren returned  to  Egypt,  not  one 
man  was  missing  from  them,  but  of 
the  Egyptians  there  fell  twelve  men. 

24.  And  when  Joseph  returned  to 
Egypt  he  ordered  Zepho  and  his  men 
to  be  additionally  bound,  and  they 
bound  them  in  irons  and  they  increas- 
ed their  grief. 

25.  And  all  the  people  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Esau,  and  the  children  of 
the  east,  returned  in  shame  each  unto 
his  city,  for  all  the  mighty  men  that 
were  with  them  had  fallen  in  battle. 

26.  And  when  the  children  of 
Esau  saw  that  their  king  had  died  in 
battle  they  hastened  and  took  a  man 
from  the  people  of  the  children  of 
the  east ;  his  name  was  Jobab  the 
son  of  Zarach,  from  the  land  of 
Botzrah,  and   they   caused   him   to 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


191 


reign  over  them  instead  of  Bela  their 

king. 

27.  And  Jobab  sat  upon  the  throne 
of  Bela  as  king  in  his  stead,  and  Jo- 
bab reigned  in  Edom  over  all  the 
children  of  Esau  ten  years,  and  the 
children  of  Esau  went  no  more  to 
fight  with  the  sons  of  Jacob  from 
that  day  forward,  for  the  sons  of  Esau 
knew  tiie  valor  of  the  sons  of  Jacob, 
and  they  were  greatly  afraid  of  them. 

28.  But  from  that  day  forward  the 
children  of  Esau  hated  the  sons  of 
Jacob,  and  the  hatred  and  enmity 
were  very  strong  between  them  all 
the  days,  unto  this  day. 

29.  And  it  came  to  pass  after  this, 
at  the  end  of  ten  years,  Jobab,  the 
son  of  Zarach,  from  Botzrah,  died, 
and  the  children  of  Esau  took  a  man 
whose  name  was  Chusham,  from  the 
land  of  Teman,  and  they  made  him 
king  over  them  instead  of  Jobab,  and 
Chusham  reigned  in  Edom  over  all 
the  children  of  Esau  for  twenty 
years. 

30.  And  Joseph,  king  of  Egypt, 
and  his  brethren,  and  all  the  children 
of  Israel  dwelt  securely  in  Egypt  in 
those  days,  together  with  all  the  chil- 
dren of  Joseph  and  his  brethren, 
having  no  hindrance  or  evil  accident; 
and  the  .land  of  Egypt  was  at  that 
time  at  rest  from  war  in  the  days  of 
Joseph  and  his  brethren. 

CHAPTER  LIX. 

1 .  And  these  are  the  names  of  the 
sons  of  Israel  who  dwelt  in  Egypt, 
who  had  come  with  Jacob,  all  the 
sons  of  Jacob  came  unto  Egypt,  every 
man  with  his  household. 

2.  The  children  of  Leah  were 
Reuben,  Simeon,  Levi,  Judah,  Issa- 
char  and  Zebulun,  and  their  sister 
Dinah. 


3.  And  the  sons  of  Rachel  were 
Joseph  and  Benjamin. 

4.  And  the  sons  of  Zilpah,  the 
handmaid  of  Leah,  were  Gad  and 
Asher. 

5.  And  tlie  sons  of  Bilhah,  the 
handmaid  of  Rachel,  were  Dan  and 
Naphtali. 

6.  And  these  were  their  offspring 
that  were  born  unto  them  in  the  land 
of  Canaan,  before  they  came  unto 
Egypt  with  their  father  Jacob. 

7.  The  sons  of  Reuben  were  Cha- 
noch,  Pallu,  Chetzron  and  Carmi. 

8.  And  the  sons  of  Simeon  were 
Jemuel,  Jamin,  Ohad,  Jachin,  Zochar 
and  Saul,  the  son  of  the  Canaanitish 
woman. 

9.  And  the  children  of  Levi  were 
Gershon,  Kehath  and  Merari,  and 
their  sister  Jochebed,  who  was  born 
unto  them  in   their  going  down  to 

Egypt. 

10.  And  the  sons  of  Judah  ivere 
Er,  Onan,  Shelah,  Perez  and  Zarach. 

1 1 .  And  Er  and  Onan  died  in  the 
land  of  Canaan  ;  and  the  sons  of  Pe- 
rez were  Chezron  and  Chamul. 

12.  And  the  sons  of  Issachar  were 
Tola,  Puvah,  Job  and  Shomron. 

13.  And  the  sons  of  Zebulun  were 
Sered,  Elon  and  Jachleel,  and  the 
son  of  Dan  was  Chushim. 

14.  And  the  sons  of  Naphtali  were 
Jachzeel,  Guni,  Jctzer  and  Shilam. 

15.  And  the  sons  of  Gad  were 
Ziphion,  Chaggi,  Shuni,  Ezbon,  Eri, 
Arodi  and  Areli. 

16.  And  the  children  of  Asher 
xoere  Jimnah,  Jishvah,  Jishvi,  Beriah 
and  their  sister  Serach  ;  and  the  sons 
of  Beriah  loere  Cheber  and  Malchiel, 

1 7.  And  the  sons  of  Benjamin  ivere 
Bela,  Becher,  Ashbel,Gcra,  Naaman, 
Achi,  Rosh,  Mupim,  Chupim  and 
Ord. 

18.  And  the  sons  of  Joseph,  that 


192 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


were  born  unto  him  in  Egypt,  were 
Manasseh  and  Ephraim. 

19.  And  all  the  souls  that  went 
forth  from  the  loins  of  Jacob,  were 
seventy  souls  ;  these  are  they  who 
came  with  Jacob  their  father  unto 
Egypt  to  dwell  there ;  and  Joseph 
and  all  his  brethren  dwelt  securely 
in  Egypt,  and  they  ate  of  the  best 
of  Egypt  all  the  days  of  the  life  of 
Joseph. 

20.  And  Joseph  lived  in  the  land 
of  Egypt  ninety-three  years,  and  Jo- 
seph reigned  over  all  Egypt  eighty 
years. 

21.  And  when  the  days  of  Joseph 
drew  nigh  that  he  should  die,  he  sent 
and  called  for  his  brethren  and  all  his 
father's  household,  and  they  all  came 
together  and  sat  before  him. 

22.  And  Joseph  said  unto  his  bre- 
thren and  unto  the  whole  of  his  fa- 
ther's household,  behold  I  die,  and 
God  will  surely  visit  you  and  bring 
you  up  from  this  land  to  the  land 
which  he  swore  to  your  fathers  to 
give  unto  them. 

23.  And  it  shall  be  when  God  shall 
visit  you  to  bring  you  up  from  here 
to  the  land  of  your  fathers,  then  bring 
up  my  bones  with  you  from  here. 

24.  And  Joseph  made  the  sons  of 
Israel  to  swear  for  their  seed  after 
them,  saying,  God  will  surely  visit 
you  and  you  shall  bring  up  my  bones 
with  you  from  here. 

25.  And  it  came  to  pass  after  this 
that  Joseph  died  in  that  year,  the  se- 
venty-first year  of  the  Israelites  going 
down  to  Egypt. 

26.  And  Joseph  was  one  hundred 
and  ten  years  old  when  he  died  in  the 
land  of  Egypt,  and  all  his  brethren 
and  all  his  servants  rose  up  and  they 
embalmed  Joseph,  as  was  their  cus- 
tom, and  his  brethren  and  all  Egypt 
mourned  over  him  for  seventy  days.  I 


27.  And  they  put  Joseph  in  a  cof 
fin  filled  with  spices  and  all  sorts  of 
perfume,  and  they  buried  him  by  the 
side  of  the  river,  that  is  Sihor,  and 
his  sons  and  all  his  brethren,  and  the 
whole  of  his  father's  household  made 
a  seven  days'  mourning  for  him. 

28.  And  it  came  to  pass  after  the 
death  of  Joseph,  all  the  Egyptians 
began  in  those  days  to  rule  over  the 
children  of  Israel,  and  Pharaoh,  king 
of  Egypt,  who  reigned  in  his  father's 
stead,  took  all  the  laws  of  Egypt  and 
conducted  the  whole  government  of 
Egypt  under  his  counsel,  and  he 
reigned  securely  over  his  people. 

CHAPTER  LX. 

1 .  And  when  the  year  came  round, 
being  the  seventy-second  year  from 
the  Israelites  going  down  to  Egypt, 
after  the  death  of  Joseph,  Zepho,  the 
son  of  Eliphaz,  the  son  of  Esau,  fled 
from  Egypt,  he  and  his  men,  and 
they  went  away. 

2.  And  he  came  to  Africa,  which 
is  Dinhabah,  to  Angeas  king  of  Af- 
rica, and  Angeas  received  them  with 
great  honor,  and  he  made  Zepho  the 
captain  of  his  host. 

3.  And  Zepho  found  favor  in  the 
sight  of  Angeas  and  in  the  sight  of 
his  people,  and  Zepho  was  captain 
of  the  host  to  Angeas  king  of  Africa 
for  many  days. 

4.  And  Zepho  enticed  Angeas  king 
of  Africa  to  collect  all  his  army  to  go 
and  fight  with  the  Egyptians,  and 
with  the  sons  of  Jacob,  and  to  avenge 
of  them  the  cause  of  his  brethren. 

5.  But  Angeas  would  not  listen  to 
Zepho  to  do  this  thing,  for  Angeas 
knew  the  strength  of  the  sons  of  Ja- 
cob, and  what  they  had  done  to  his 
army  in  their  warfare  with  the  chil- 
dren of  Esau. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


193 


6.  And  Zepho  was  in  those  days 
very  great  in  the  sight  of  Angcas 
and  in  the  sigiit  of  all  his  people, 
and  he  continually  enticed  iheni  to 
make  war  against  Egypt,  but  they 
would  not. 

7.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  those 
days  there  was  in  the  land  of  Chiltim 
a  man  in  the  city  of  Puzimna,  whose 
name  was  Uzu,  and  he  became  de- 
generately deilied  by  the  children  of 
Chittim,  and  the  man  died  and  had 
no  son,  only  one  daughter  whose 
name  was  Jania. 

8.  And  the  damsel  was  exceeding- 
ly beautiful,  comely  and  intelligent, 
there  was  none  seen  like  unto  her 
for  beauty  and  wisdom  throughout 
the  land. 

9.  And  the  people  of  Angeas  king 
of  Africa  saw  her  and  they  came  and 
praised  her  unto  him,  and  Angeas 
sent  to  the  children  of  Chittim,  and 
he  requested  to  take  her  unto  him- 
self for  a  wife.  And  the  people  of 
Chittim  consented  to  give  her  unto 
him  for  a  wife. 

]  0.  And  when  the  messengers  of 
Angeas  were  going  forth  from  the 
land  of  Chittim  to  take  their  journey, 
behold  the  messengers  of  Turnus 
king  of  Bibentu  came  unto  Chittim, 
for  Turnus  king  of  Bibentu  also  sent 
his  messengers  to  request  Jania  for 
him,  to  take  unto  himself  for  a  wife, 
for  all  his  men  had  also  praised  her 
to  him,  therefore  he  sent  all  his  ser- 
vants unto  her. 

11.  And  the  servants  of  Turnus 
came  to  Chittim,  and  they  asked 
for  Jania,  to  be  taken  unto  Turnus 
their  king  for  a  wife. 

12.  And  the  people  of  Chittim 
said  unto  them,  we  cannot  give  her, 
because  Angeas  king  of  Africa  de- 
sired her  to  take  her  unto  him  for  a 
wife  before  you  came,  and  that  we 

13 


should  give  her  unto  him,  and  now 
therefore  we  cannot  do  this  thing  to 
deprive  Angean  of  the  damsel  in  or- 
der to  give  her  unto  Turnus. 

13.  For  we  are  greatly  afraid  of 
Angeas  lest  he  come  in  battle  against 
us  and  destroy  us,  and  Turnus  your 
master  will  not  be  able  to  deliver  us 
from  his  hand. 

14.  And  when  the  messengers  of 
Turnus  heard  all  the  words  of  the 
children  of  Chittim,  they  turned 
back  to  their  master  and  told  him  all 
the  words  of  the  children  of  Chittim. 

15.  And  the  children  of  Chittim 
sent  a  memorial  to  Angeas,  saying, 
behold  Turnus  has  sent  for  Jania  to 
take  her  unto  him  for  a  wife,  and 
thus  have  we  answered  him  ;  and 
we  heard  that  he  has  collected  his 
whole  army  to  go  to  Avar  against 
thee,  and  he  intends  to  pass  by  the 
road  of  Sardunia  to  fight  against  thy 
brother  Lucus,  and  after  that  he  will 
come  to  fight  against  thee. 

16.  And  Angeas  heard  the  words 
of  the  children  of  Chittim  which 
they  sent  him  in  the  record,  and  his 
anger  was'  kindled  and  he  rose  up 
and  assembled  his  whole  army  and 
came  through  the  islands  of  the  sea, 
the  road  to  Sardunia,  unto  his  brother 
Lucus  king  of  Sardunia. 

17.  And  Niblos,the  son  of  Lucus, 
heard  that  his  uncle  Angeas  was 
coming,  and  he  went  out  to  meet 
him  with  a  heavy  army,  and  he  kiss- 
ed him  and  embraced  him,  and  Nib- 
los  said  unto  Angeas,  when  thou 
askest  my  father  after  his  welfare, 
when  I  shall  go  with  thee  to  fight 
with  Turnus,  ask  of  him  to  make 
me  captain  of  his  host,  and  Angeas 
did  so,  and  he  came  unto  his  brother 
and  his  brother  came  to  meet  him, 
and  he  asked  him   after  Ids  welfare. 

18.  And  Angeas  asked  his  brother 


194 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


Lucus  after  his  welfare,  and  to  make 
his  son  Niblos  captain  of  his  host, 
and  Lucus  did  so,  and  Angeas  and 
his  brother  Lucus  rose  up  and  they 
went  toward  Turnus  to  battle,  and 
there  was  Avith  them  a  great  army 
and  a  heavy  people. 

19.  And  he  came  in  ships,  and 
they  came  into  the  province  of  Ash- 
torash,  and  behold  Turnus  came  to- 
ward them,  for  he  went  forth  to  Sar- 
dunia,  and  intended  to  destroy  it  and 
afterward  to  pass  on  from  there  to 
Angeas  to  fight  with  him. 

20.  And  Angeas  and  Lucus  his 
brother  met  Turnus  in  the  valley  of 
Canopia,  and  the  battle  was  strong 
and  mighty  between  them  in  that 
place. 

21.  And  the  battle  was  severe 
upon  Lucus  king  of  Sardunia,  and 
all  his  army  fell,  and  Niblos  his  son 
fell  also  in  that  battle. 

22.  And  his  uncle  Angeas  com- 
manded his  servants  and  they  made 
a  golden  coffin  for  Niblos  and  they 
put  him  into  it,  and  Angeas  again 
waged  battle  toward  Turnus,  and 
Angeas  was  stronger  than  he,  and  he 
slew  him,  and  he  smote  all  his  people 
with  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and  An- 
geas avenged  the  cause  of  Niblos  his 
brother's  son  and  the  cause  of  the 
army  of  his  brother  Lucus. 

23.  And  when  Turnus  died,  the 
hands  of  those  that  survived  the 
battle  became  weak,  and  they  fled 
from  before  Angeas  and  Lucus  his 
brother. 

24.  And  Angeas  and  his  brother 
Lucus  pursued  them  unto  the  high- 
road, which  is  between  Alphanu 
and  Romah,  and  they  slew  the  whole 
army  of  Turnus  with  the  edge  of 
the  sword. 

25.  And  Lucus  king  of  Sardunia 


commanded  his  servants  that  they 
should  make  a  coffin  of  brass,  and 
that  they  should  place  therein  the 
body  of  his  son  Niblos,  and  they 
buried  him  in  that  place. 

26.  And  they  built  upon  it  a  high 
tower  there  upon  the  highroad,  and 
they  called  its  name  after  the  name 
of  Niblos  unto  this  day,  and  they  al- 
so buried  Turnus  king  of  Bibentu 
there  in  that  place  with  Niblos. 

27.  And  behold  upon  the  high- 
road between  Alphanu  and  Romah 
the  grave  of  Niblos  is  on  one  side 
and  the  grave  of  Turnus  on  the 
other,  and  a  pavement  between  thera 
unto  this  day. 

28.  And  when  Niblos  was  buried 
Lucus  his  father  returned  with  his 
army  to  his  land  Sardunia,  and  An- 
geas his  brother  king  of  Africa  went 
with  his  people  unto  the  city  of  Bi- 
bentu, that  is  the  city  of  Turnus. 

29.  And  the  inhabitants  of  Bibentu 
heard  of  his  fame  and  they  were  great- 
ly afraid  of  him,  and  they  went  forth 
to  meet  him  with  weeping  and  sup- 
plication, and  the  inhabitants  of  Bi- 
bentu entreated  of  Angeas  not  to 
slay  them  nor  to  destroy  their  city; 
and  he  did  so,  for  Bibentu  was  in 
those  days  reckoned  as  one  of  the 
cities  of  the  children  of  Chittim ; 
therefore  he  did  not  destroy  the  city. 

30.  But  from  that  day  forward 
the  troops  of  the  king  of  Africa 
would  go  to  Chittim  to  spoil  and 
plunder  it,  and  whenever  they  went 
Zepho  the  captain  of  the  host  of  An- 
geas would  go  with  them. 

31.  And  it  was  after  this  that 
Angeas  turned  with  his  army  and 
they  came  to  the  city  of  Puzimna, 
and  Angeas  took  thence  Jania  the 
daughter  of  Uzu  for  a  wife  and 
brought  her  unto  his  city  unto  Africa. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


195 


CHAPTER  LXI. 

1.  And  it  came  to  pass  at  that 
time  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt  com- 
manded all  his  people  to  make  for 
him  a  strong  palace  in  Egypt. 

2.  And  he  also  commanded  the 
sons  of  Jacob  to  assist  the  Egyj)tians 
in  the  building,  and  the  Egyptians 
made  a  beautiful  and  elegant  palace 
for  a  royal  habitation,  and  he  dwelt 
therein  and  he  renewed  his  govern- 
ment and  he  reigned  securely. 

3.  And  Zebulun  the  son  of  Jacob 
died  in  that  year,  that  is  the  seventy 
second  year  of  the  going  down  of 
the  Israelites  to  Egypt,  and  Zebulun 
died  a  hundred  and  fourteen  years 
old,  and  was  put  into  a  coffin  and 
given  into  the  hands  of  his  children. 

4.  And  in  the  seventy  fifth  year 
died  his  brother  Simeon,  he  was  a 
hundred  and  twenty  years  old  at  his 
death,  and  he  was  also  put  into  a 
coffin  and  given  into  the  hands  of  liis 
children. 

5.  And  Zepho  the  son  of  Eliphaz 
the  son  of  Esau,  captain  of  the  host 
to  Aiigeas  king  of  Dinhabah,  was 
still  daily  enticing  Angeas  to  prepare 
for  battle  to  fight  with  the  sons  of 
Jacob  in  Egypt,  and  Angeas  was 
unwilling  to  do  this  thing,  for  his 
servants  had  related  to  him  all  the 
might  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  what 
they  had  done  unto  them  in  their 
battle  with  the  children  of  Esau, 

6.  And  Zepho  was  in  those  days 
daily  enticing  Angeas  to  fight  with 
the  sons  of  Jacob  in  those  days. 

7.  And  after  some  time  Angeas 
hearkened  to  the  words  of  Zepho 
and  consented  to  him  to  fight  with 
the  sons  of  Jacob  in  Egypt,  and 
Angeas  got  all  his  people  in  order, 
a  people  numerous  as  the  sand 
which  is  upon  the  sea  shore,  and  he 


formed  his  resolution  to  go  to  Egypt 
to  battle. 

8.  And  amongst  the  servants  of 
Angeas  was  a  yoiith  fifteen  years 
old,  Balaam  the  son  of  Bcor  was  his 
name,  and  the  youth  was  very  wise 
and  understood  ihc  art  of  witchcraft. 

9.  And  Angeas  said  unto  Balaam, 
conjure  for  us,  I  pray  thee,  with  the 
witchcraft,  that  we  may  know  who 
will  prevail  in  this  battle  to  which 
we  are  now  proceedmg. 

10.  And  Balaam  ordered  that  they 
should  bring  him  wax,  and  he  made 
thereof  the  likeness  of  chariots  and 
horsemen  representing  the  army  of 
Angeas  and  the  army  of  Egypt,  and 
he  put  them  in  the  cunningly  pre- 
pared waters  that  he  had  for  that 
purpose,  and  he  took  in  his  hand  the 
boughs  of  myrtle  trees,  and  he  ex- 
ercised his  cunning,  and  he  joined 
them  over  the  water,  and  there  ap- 
peared unto  him  in  the  water  the 
resembling  images  of  the  hosts  of 
Angeas  falling  before  the  resembling 
images  of  the  Egyptians  and  the 
sons  of  Jacob. 

1 1 .  And  Balaam  told  this  thing  to 
Angeas  and  Angeas  despaired  and 
did  not  arm  himself  to  go  down  to 
Egypt  to  battle,  and  he  remained  in 
his  city. 

12.  And  when  Zepho  the  son  of 
Eliphaz  saw  that  Angeas  despaired 
of  going  forth  to  battle  with  the 
Egyptians,  Zepho  fled  from  Angeas 
from  Africa,  and  he  went  and  came 
unto  Chittim. 

13.  And  all  the  people  of  Chittim 
received  him  with  great  honor,  and 
they  hired  him  to  fight  their  battles 
all  the  days,  and  Zepho  became  ex- 
ceedingly rich  in  those  days,  and  the 
troops  of  the  king  of  Africa  still 
spread  themselves  in  those  days,  and 
the  children  of  Chittim  assembled 


196 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


and  went  to  Mount  Cuptizia  on 
account  of  the  troops  of  Angeas  king 
of  Africa,  who  were  advancing  upon 
them. 

14.  And  it  was  one  day  that  Zepho 
lost  a  young  heifer,  and  he  went  to 
seek  it,  and  he  heard  it  lowing  round 
about  the  mountain. 

15.  And  Zepho  went  and  he  saw 
and  behold  there  was  a  large  cave  at 
the  bottom  of  the  mountain,  and 
there  was  a  great  stone  there  at  the 
entrance  of  the  cave,  and  Zepho 
split  the  stone  and  he  came  unto  the 
cave  and  he  looked  and  behold,  a 
large  animal  was  devouring  the  ox ; 
from  the  middle  upward  it  resembled 
a  man,  and  from  the  middle  down- 
ward it  resembled  an  animal,  and 
Zepho  rose  up  against  the  animal 
and  slew  it  with  his  sword. 

16.  And  the  inhabitants  of  Chittim 
heard  of  this  thing,  and  they  rejoiced 
exceedingly,  and  they  said,  what 
shall  we  do  unto  this  man  who  has 
slain  this  animal  that  devoured  our 
cattle  ? 

17.  And  they  all  assembled  to 
consecrate  one  day  in  the  year  to 
him,  and  they  called  the  name  thereof 
Zepho  after  his  name,  and  they 
brouQ-ht  unto  him  drink  ofFerinss 
year  after  year  on  that  day,  and  they 
brought  unto  him  gifts. 

18.  At  that  time  Jania  the  daughter 
of  Uzu  wife  of  kinsT  Angeas  became 
ill,  and  her  illness  was  heavily  felt 
by  Angeas  and  his  officers,  and 
Angeas  said  unto  his  wise  men,  what 
shall  I  do  to  Jania  and  how  shall  I 
heal  her  from  her  illness  ?  and  his 
wise  men  said  unto  him,  because  the 
air  of  our  country  is  not  like  the  air 
of  the  land  of  Chittim,  and  our  water 
is  not  like  their  water,  therefore  from 
this  has  the  queen  become  ill. 

19.  For  through  the  change  of  air 


and  water  she  became  ill,  and  also 
because  in  her  country  she  drank 
only  the  water  which  came  from 
Purmah,  which  her  ancestors  had 
brought  up  with  bridges. 

20.  And  Angeas  commanded  his 
servants,  and  they  brought  unto  him 
in  vessels  of  the  waters  of  Purmah 
belonging  to  Chittim,  and  they 
weighed  those  waters  with  all  the 
waters  of  the  land  of  Africa  and  they 
found  those  waters  lighter  than  the 
waters  of  Africa. 

21.  And  Angeas  saw  this  thing 
and  he  commanded  all  his  officers  to 
assemble  the  hewers  of  stone  in 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  and 
they  hewed  stones  without  number, 
and  the  builders  came  and  they  built 
an  exceedingly  strong  bridge,  and 
they  conveyed  the  spring  of  water 
from  the  land  of  Chittim  unto  Africa, 
and  those  waters  were  for  Jania  the 
queen  and  for  all  her  concerns,  to 
drink  from  and  to  bake,  wash  and 
bathe  therewith,  and  also  to  water 
theretvith  all  seed  from  which  food 
can  be  obtained,  and  all  fruit  of  the 
ground. 

22.  And  the  king  commanded  that 
they  should  bring  of  the  soil  of  Chit- 
tim in  large  ships,  and  they  also 
brought  stones  to  build  therewith, 
and  the  builders  built  palaces  for 
Jania  the  queen,  and  the  queen  be- 
came healed  of  her  illness. 

23.  And  at  the  revolution  of  the 
year  the  troops  of  Africa  continued 
coming  to  the  land  of  Chittim  to 
plunder  as  usual,  and  Zepho  son  of 
Eliphaz  heard  their  report,  and  he 
gave  orders  concerning  them  and  he 
fought  with  them,  and  they  fled  be- 
fore him,  and  he  delivered  the  land 
of  Chittim  from  them. 

24.  And  the  children  of  Chittim 
saw  the  valor  of  Zepho,  and  the  chil- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


197 


dren  of  Chittim  resolved  and  ihey 
made  Zepho  king  over  them,  and  he 
became  king  over  them,  and  whilst 
he  reigned  they  went  to  subdue  the 
children  of  Tubal,  and  all  the  sur- 
rounding islands. 

25.  And  their  king  Zepho  went  at 
their  head  and  they  made  war  with 
Tubal  and  the  islands,  and  they  sub- 
dued them,  and  when  they  returned 
from  the  battle  they  renewed  his  go- 
vernment for  him,  and  they  built  for 
him  a  very  large  palace  for  his  royal 
habitation  and  seat,  and  they  made 
a  large  throne  for  him,  and  Zepho 
reigned  over  the  whole  land  of  Chit- 
tim and  over  the  land  of  Italia  fifty 
years. 

CHAPTER  LXII. 

1.  In  that  year,  being  the  seventy- 
ninth  year  of  the  Israelites  going 
down  to  Egypt,  died  Reuben  the  son 
of  Jacob,  in  the  land  of  Egypt ;  Reu- 
ben was  a  hundred  and  twenty-five 
years  old  when  he  died,  and  they 
put  him   into  a  coffin,  and   he   was 

'given  into  the  hands  of  his  children. 

2.  And  in  the  eightieth  year  died 
his  brother  Dan  ;  he  was  a  hundred 
and  twenty  years  old  at  his  death, 
and  he  was  also  put  into  a  cofliin  and 
given  into  the  hands  of  his  children. 

3.  And  in  that  year  died  Chusham 
king  of  Edom,  and  after  him  reigned 
Hadad  the  son  of  Bedad,  for  thirty- 
five  years ;  and  in  the  eighty-first 
year  died  Issachar  the  son  of  Jacob, 
in  Egypt,  and  Issachar  was  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty-two  years  old  at  his 
death,  and  he  was  put  into  a  coffin  in 
Egypt,  and  given  into  the  hands  of 
his  children. 

4.  And  in  the  eighty-second  year 
died  Asher  his  brother,  he  was  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty-three  years  old  at 


iiis  death,  and  he  was  placed  in  a 
coffin  in  Egyi)t,  and  given  into  the 
liands  of  his  cluldren. 

5.  And  in  liie  eighty-third  year 
died  (iad,  he  was  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  years  old  at  iiis  death, 
and  he  was  put  into  a  coffin  in  Egypt, 
and  given  into  the  hands  of  iiis  chil- 
dren. 

6.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the 
eighty-fourth  year,  that  is  tiie  fiftieth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Hadad,  son  of 
Bedad,  king  of  Edom,  that  Hadad 
assembled  all  the  children  of  Esau, 
and  lie  got  his  whole  army  in  readi- 
ness, about  four  hundred  thousand 
men,  and  he  directed  his  way  to  the 
land  of  Moab,  and  he  went  to  fight 
with  Moab  and  to  make  them  tribu- 
tary to  him. 

7.  And  the  children  of  Moab  heard 
this  thing,  and  they  were  very  much 
afraid,  and  they  sent  to  the  children 
of  Midian  to  assist  them  in  fighting 
with  Hadad,  son  of  Bedad,  king  of 
Edom. 

8.  And  Hadad  came  unto  the  land 
of  Moab,  and  Moab  and  the  children 
of  Midian  went  out  to  meet  him,  and 
they  placed  themselves  in  battle  ar- 
ray against  him  in  the  field  of  Moab. 

9.  And  Hadad  fought  with  Moab, 
and  there  fell  of  the  cliildren  of  Moab 
and  the  children  of  Midian  many  slain 
ones,  about  two  hundred  thousand 
men. 

10.  And  the  battle  waa  very  se- 
vere upon  Moab,  and  when  the  chil- 
dren of  Moab  saw  that  tiie  battle  was 
sore  upon  them,  they  weakened  their 
hands  and  turned  their  backs,  and 
left  the  children  of  Midian  to  carry 
on  the  battle. 

11.  And  the  children  of  Midian 
knew  not  the  intentions  of  Moab,  but 
they  strengthened  themselves  in  bat- 
tle and  fouffht  with  Hadad  and  all 


198 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


his  host,  and  all  Midian  fell  before 
him. 

12.  And  Hadad  smote  all  Midian 
with  a  heavy  smiting,  and  he  slew 
them  with  the  edge  of  the  sword,  he 
left  none  remaining  of  those  who 
came  to  assist  Moab. 

13.  And  when  all  the  children  of 
Midian  had  perished  in  battle,  and 
the  children  of  Moab  had  escaped, 
Hadad  made  all  Moab  at  that  time 
tributary  to  him,  and  they  became  un- 
der his  hand,  and  they  gave  a  yearly 
tax  as  it  was  ordered,  and  Hadad 
tm-ned  and  went  back  to  his  land. 

14.  And  at  the  revolution  of  the 
year,  when  the  rest  of  the  people  of 
Midian  that  were  in  the  land  heard 
that  all  their  brethren  had  fallen  in 
baltle  with  Hadad  for  the  sake  of 
Moab,  because  the  children  of  Moab 
had  turned  their  backs  in  battle  and 
left  Midian  to  fight,  tlien  five  of  the 
princes  of  Midian  resolved  with  the 
rest  of  their  brethren  who  remained 
in  their  land,  to  fight  with  Moab  to 
avenge  tlic  cause  of  their  brethren. 

15.  And  the  children  of  Midian 
sent  to  all  their  brethren  the  children 
of  the  east,  and  all  their  brethren,  all 
the  children  of  Keturah  came  to  as- 
sist Midian  to  fight  with  Moab. 

16.  And  the  ciiildren  of  Moab 
heard  this  thing,  and  they  were  great- 
ly afraid  that  all  the  children  of  the 
east  had  assembled  together  against 
them  for  battle,  and  they  the  children 
of  Moab  sent  a  memorial  to  the  land 
of  Edom  to  Hadad  the  son  of  Bedad, 
saying, 

17.  Come  now  unto  us  and  assist 
us  and  we  will  smite  Midian,  for  they 
all  assembled  together  and  have  come 
against  us  with  all  their  brethren  the 
children  of  the  east  to  battle,  to 
avenge  the  cause  of  Midian  that  fell 
in  baltle. 


18.  And  Hadad,  son  of  Bedad, 
king  of  Edom,  went  forth  with  his 
whole  army  and  went  to  the  land  of 
Moab  to  fight  with  Midian,  and  Mi- 
dian and  the  children  of  the  east 
fought  with  Moab  in  the  field  of  Moab, 
and  the  battle  was  very  fierce  be- 
tween them, 

19.  And  Hadad  smote  all  the  chil- 
dren of  Midian  and  the  children  of 
the  east  with  the  edge  of  the  sword, 
and  Hadad  at  that  time  delivered 
Moab  from  the  hand  of  Midian,  and 
those  that  remained  of  Midian  and 
of  the  children  of  the  east  fled  before 
Hadad  and  his  army,  and  Hadad  pur- 
sued them  to  their  land,  and  smote 
them  with  a  very  heavy  slaughter, 
and  the  slain  fell  in  the  road. 

20.  And  Hadad  delivered  Moab 
from  the  hand  of  Midian,  for  all  the 
children  of  Midian  had  fallen  by  the 
edge  of  the  sword,  and  Hadad  turned 
and  went  back  to  his  land, 

21.  And  from  that  day  forth,  the 
children  of  Midian  hated  the  children 
of  Moab,  because  they  had  fallen  in 
battle  for  their  sake,  and  there  was 
a  great  and  mighty  enmity  betweerf 
them  all  the  days. 

22.  And  all  that  were  foimd  of 
Midian  in  the  road  of  the  land  of 
Moab  perished  by  the  sword  of  Moab, 
and  all  that  were  found  of  Moab  in 
the  road  of  the  land  of  Midian,  pe- 
rished by  the  sw^ord  of  Midian;  thus 
did  jMidian  unto  Moab  and  Moab  unto 
Midian  for  many  days. 

23.  And  it  came  to  pass  at  that 
time  that  Judah  the  son  of  Jacob 
died  in  Egypt,  in  the  eighty  sixth 
year  of  Jacob's  going  down  to  Egypt, 
and  Judah  was  a  hundred  and  twenty 
nine  years  old  at  his  death,  and  they 
embalmed  him  and  put  him  into  a 
a  coffin  and  he  was  given  into  the 
hands  of  his  children. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


199 


24.  And  in  the  eighty  ninth  year 
died  Naphtali,  he  was  a  hundred  and 
thirty  two  years  old,  and  lie  was  put 
into  a  cotRri  and  given  into  the  liands 
of  his  children. 

25.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the 
ninety  first  year  of  the  Israelites  go- 
ing down  to  Egypt,  that  is  in  the 
thirtieth  year  of  the  reign  of  Zepho 
the  son  of  Eliphaz,  the  son  of  Esau, 
over  the  children  of  Chittim,  the 
children  of  Africa  came  upon  the 
children  of  Chitlim  to  plinider  them 
as  usual,  but  they  had  not  come  upon 
them  for  these  thirteen  years. 

26.  And  they  came  to  them  in 
that  year,  and  Zepho  the  son  of  Eli- 
phaz went  out  to  them  with  some  of 
liis  men  and  smote  them  desperately, 
and  the  troops  of  Africa  fled  from  be- 
fore Zepho  and  the  slain  fell  before 
him,  and  Zepho  and  his  men  pursued 
them,  going  on  and  smiting  them  un- 
til they  were  near  unto  Africa. 

27.  And  Angeas  king  of  Africa 
heard  the  thing  which  Zepho  had 
done,  and  it  vexed  him  exceedingly, 
and  Angeas  was  afraid  of  Zepho  all 
the  days. 

CHAPTER  LXIir. 

1.  And  in  the  ninety  third  year 
died  Levi  the  son  of  Jacob  in  Egypt, 
and  Levi  was  a  hundred  and  thirty 
seven  years  old  when  he  died,  and 
they  put  him  into  a  colfin  and  he  was 
given  into  the  hands  of  his  children. 

2.  And  it  came  to  pass  after  the 
death  of  Levi,  when  all  Egypt  saw 
that  the  sons  of  Jacob  the  brethren 
of  Joseph  were  dead,  all  the  Egyp- 
tians began  to  afflict  the  children  of 
Jacob,  and  to  embitter  their  lives 
from  that  dav  unto  the  day  of  their 
going  forth  from  Egypt,  and  they 
took  from  their  hands  all  the  vine- 


yards and  fields  which  Joseph  had 
given  unto  tliein,  and  all  the  elegant 
iiouses  in  which  the  people  of  Israel 
lived,  and  all  the  fat  of  Egypt,  the 
Egyptians  took  all  from  the  sons  of 
Jacob  in  those  days. 

3.  And  the  hand  of  all  Egypt  be- 
came more  grievous  in  those  days 
against  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
the  Egyptians  injured  the  Israelites 
until  the  children  of  Israel  were 
wearied  of  their  lives  on  account  of 
the  Egyptians. 

4.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  those 
days,  in  the  hundred  and  second  year 
of  Israel's  going  down  to  Egypt,  that 
Pharaoh  king  of  Egyj)t  died,  and 
Melol  his  son  reigned  in  his  stead, 
and  all  the  mighty  men  of  Egypt  and 
all  that  generation  which  knew  Jo- 
seph and  his  brethren  died  in  those 
days. 

5.  And  another  generation  rose  up 
in  their  stead,  which  had  not  known 
the  sons  of  Jacob  and  all  the  good 
which  they  had  done  to  them,  and  all 
their  might  in  Egypt. 

6.  Therefore  all  Egypt  began  from 
that  day  forth  to  embitter  the  lives  of 
the  sons  of  Jacob,  and  to  afflict  them 
Avith  all  manner  of  hard  labor,  be- 
cause they  had  not  known  their  an- 
cestors who  had  delivei'ed  them  in 
the  days  of  the  famine. 

7.  And  this  was  also  from  the  Lord, 
for  the  children  of  Israel,  to  benefit 
them  in  their  latter  days,  in  order 
that  all  the  children  of  Israel  might 
know  the  Lord  their  God. 

8.  And  in  order  to  know  the  signs 
and  mighty  wonders  which  the  Lord 
would  do  in  Egypt  on  account  of  his 
people  Israel,  in  order  that  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  might  fear  the  Lord 
God  of  their  ancestors,  and  walk  in 
all  his  ways,  they  and  their  seed  af- 
ter them  all  the  days. 


200 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


9.  Melol  was  twenty  years  old 
when  he  began  to  reign,  and  he 
reigned  ninety  four  years,  and  all 
Egypt  called  his  name  Pharaoh  after 
the  name  of  his  father,  as  it  was 
their  custom  to  do  to  every  king  who 
reigned  over  them  in  Egypt. 

10.  At  that  time  all  the  troops  of 
Angeas  king  of  Africa  went  forth  to 
spread  along  the  land  of  Chittim  as 
usual  for  plunder. 

1 1 .  And  Zepho  the  son  of  Eliphaz 
the  son  of  Esau  heard  their  report, 
and  he  went  forth  to  meet  them  with 
his  army,  and  he  fougiit  them  there 
in  the  road. 

12.  And  Zepho  smote  the  troops 
of  the  king  of  Africa  with  the  edge 
of  the  sword,  and  left  none  remain- 
ing of  them,  and  not  even  one  re- 
turned to  his  master  in  Africa. 

13.  And  Angeas  heard  of  this 
which  Zepho  the  son  of  EHphaz  had 
done  to  all  his  troops,  that  he  had  de- 
stroyed them,  and  Angeas  assembled 
all  his  troops,  all  the  men  of  the  land 
of  Africa,  a  people  numerous  like  the 
sand  by  the  sea  shore. 

14.  And  Angeas  sent  to  Lucus  his 
brother,  saying,  come  to  me  with  all 
thy  men  and  help  me  to  smite  Zepho 
and  all  the  children  of  Chittim  who 
have  destroyed  my  men,  and  Lucus 
came  with  his  whole  army,  a  very 
great  force,  to  assist  Angeas  his  bro- 
ther to  fight  with  Zepho  and  the 
children  of  Chittim. 

15.  And  Zepho  and  the  children 
of  Chittim  heard  this  thing,  and  they 
were  greatly  afraid  and  a  great  terror 
fell  upon  their  hearts. 

16.  And  Zepho  also  sent  a  letter 
to  the  land  of  Edom  to  Hadad  the 
son  of  Bedad  king  of  Edom  and  to  all 
the  children  of  Esau,  saying, 

17.  I  have  heard  that  Angeas  king 
of  Africa  is  coming  to  us  with  his 


brother  for  battle  against  us,  and  we 
are  greatly  afraid  of  him,  for  his 
army  is  very  great,  particularly  as  he 
comes  against  us  with  his  brother 
and  his  army  likewise, 

18.  Now  therefore  come  you  also 
up  with  me  and  help  me,  and  we 
will  fight  together  against  Angeas 
and  his  brother  Lucus,  and  you  will 
save  us  out  of  their  hands,  but  if 
not,  know  ye  that  we  shall  all  die. 

19.  And  the  children  of  Esau  sent 
a  letter  to  the  children  of  Chittim 
and  to  Zepho  their  king,  saying,  we 
cannot  fight  against  Angeas  and  his 
people  for  a  covenant  of  peace  has 
been  between  us  these  many  years, 
from  the  days  of  Bela  the  first  king, 
and  from  the  days  of  Joseph  the  son 
of  Jacob  king  of  Egypt,  Avith  whom 
we  fought  on  the  other  side  of  Jor- 
dan when  he  buried  his  father. 

20.  And  when  Zepho  heard  the 
words  of  his  brethren  the  children  of 
Esau  he  refrained  from  them,  and 
Zepho  was  greatly  afraid  of  Angeas. 

21.  And  Angeas  and  Lucus  his 
brother  arrayed  all  their  forces,  about 
eight  hundred  thousand  men,  against 
the  children  of  Chittim. 

22.  And  all  the  children  of  Chit- 
tim said  unto  Zepho,  pray  for  us  to 
the  God  of  thy  ancestors,  peradven- 
ture  he  may  deliver  us  from  the  hand 
of  Angeas  and  his  army,  for  we 
have  heard  that  he  is  a  great  God 
and  that  he  delivers  all  who  trust  in 
him. 

2.S.  And  Zepho  heard  their  words, 
and  Zepho  sought  the  Lord  and  he 
said. 

24.  0  Lord  God  of  Abraham  and 
Isaac  my  ancestors,  this  day  I  know 
that  thou  art  a  true  God,  and  all  the 
gods  of  the  nations  are  vain  and  use- 
less. 

25    Remember  now  this  day  un- 


THK  BOOK  OF  JASHKR. 


201 


to  me  tliy  covenant  with  Abraham 
our  father,  which  our  ancestors  re- 
lated unto  us,  and  do  graciously  with 
me  this  day  for  tiic  sake  of  Abra- 
ham and  Isaac  our  fathers,  and  save 
me  and  the  cliiidren  of  Chitlini  from 
the  hand  of  the  king  of  Africa  who 
comes  against  us  for  battle. 

26.  And  the  Lord  hearkened  to 
the  voice  of  Zepho,  and  he  had  re- 
gard for  him  on  account  of  Abraham 
and  Isaac,  and  the  Lord  delivered 
Zepho  and  the  children  of  Ciiittim 
from  the  hand  of  Angeas  and  his 
people. 

27.  And  Zepho  fought  Angeas 
king  of  Africa  and  all  his  people  on 
that  day,  and  the  Lord  gave  all  the 
people  of  Angeas  into  the  hands  of 
the  children  of  Chittim. 

28.  And  the  battle  was  severe  up- 
on Angeas,  and  Zepho  smote  all  the 
men  of  Angeas  and  Lucus  his  bro- 
ther, with  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and 
there  fell  from  them  until  the  even- 
ing of  that  day  about  four  hundred 
thousand  men. 

29.  And  when  Angeas  saw  that  all 
his  men  perished,  he  sent  a  letter  to 
all  the  inhabitants  of  Africa  to  come 
to  him  to  assist  him  in  the  battle,  and 
he  wrote  in  the  letter,  saying,  all  who 
are  found  in  Africa  let  them  come 
unto  me  from  ten  years  old  and  up- 
ward; let  them  all  come  unto  me, 
and  behold  if  he  comes  not  he  shall 
die,  and  all  that  he  has,  with  his 
whole  household,  the  king  will  take. 

30.  And  all  the  rest  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Africa  were  terrified  at  the 
words  of  Angeas,  and  there  went  out 
of  the  city  about  three  hundred  thou- 
sand men  and  boys,  from  ten  years 
upward,  and  they  came  to  Angeas. 

31.  And  at  the  end  of  ten  days 
Angeas  renewed  the  battle  against 
Zepho  and  the  children  of  Chittim, 


and   the    battle  was  very  great  and 
strong  between  them. 

32.  And  from  the  army  of  Angeas 
and  Lucus  Zepho  sent  many  of  the 
wounded  unto  }iis  land,  about  two 
thousand  men,  and  Sosiphtar  the 
captain  of  the  host  of  Angeas  fell  in 
that  battle. 

33.  And  when  Sosiphtar  had  fall- 
en the  African  troops  turned  their 
backs  to  flee,  and  they  fled,  and  An- 
geas and  Lucus  his  brother  were 
with  them. 

31.  And  Zepho  and  the  children 
of  Chittim  pursued  them,  and  they 
smote  them  still  heavily  on  the 
road,  about  two  hundred  men,  and 
they  pursued  Azdrubal  the  son  of 
Angeas  who  had  fled  with  his  fa- 
ther, and  they  smote  twenty  of  his 
men  in  the  road,  and  Azdrubal 
escaped  from  the  children  of  Chit- 
tim, and  they  did  not  slay  him. 

35.  And  Angeas  and  Lucus  his 
brother  fled  with  the  rest  of  their 
men,  and  they  escaped  and  came  in- 
to x\frica  with  terror  and  consterna- 
tion, and  Angeas  feared  all  the  days 
lest  Zepho  the  son  of  Eliphaz  should 
go  to  war  with  him. 

CHAPTER  LXIV. 

1.  And  Balaam  the  son  of  Beor 
was  at  that  time  with  Angeas  in  the 
battle,  and  wlien  he  saw  that  Zepho 
prevailed  over  Angeas,  he  fled  from 
there  and  came  to  Cliitlim. 

2.  And  Zepho  and  the  children  of 
Chittim  received  him  with  great  ho- 
nor, for  Zepho  knew  Balaam's  wis- 
dom, and  Zepho  gave  unto  Balaam 
many  gifts  and  he  remained  with 
him. 

3.  And  when  Zepho  had  returned 
from  the  war,  he  commanded  all  the 
children  of  Chittim  to  be  numbered 


202 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


who  had  gone  into   battle  with  him, 
and  behold  not  one  was  missed. 

4.  And  Zepho  rejoiced  at  this 
thing,  and  he  renewed  his  kingdom,* 
and  he  made  a  feast  to  all  his  subjects. 

5.  But  Zepho  remembered  not 
the  Lord  and  considered  not  that  the 
Lord  had  helped  him  in  battle,  and 
that  he  had  delivered  him  and  his 
people  from  the  hand  of  the  king  of 
Africa,  but  still  walked  in  the  ways 
of  the  children  of  Chittim  and  the 
wicked  children  of  Esau,  to  serve 
other  gods  which  his  brethren  the 
children  of"  Esau  had  taught  him; 
it  is  therefore  said,  from  the  wicked 
goes  forth  wickedness. 

6.  And  Zepho  reigned  over  all  the 
children  of  Chitlim  securely,  but 
knew  not  the  Lord  who  had  deliver- 
ed him  and  all  his  people  from  the 
hand  of  the  king  of  Africa  ;  and  the 
troops  of  Africa  came  no  more  to 
Chittim  to  plunder  as  usual,  for  they 
knew  of  the  power  of  Zepho  wlio  had 
smitten  them  all  at  tlie  edge  of  the 
sword,  so  Angeas  was  afraid  of  Ze- 
pho the  son  of  Eliphaz,  and  of  the 
children  of  Chittim  all  the  days. 

7.  At  that  time  when  Zepho  had 
returned  from  the  war,  and  when 
Zepho  had  seen  how  he  prevailed 
over  all  the  people  of  Africa  and  had 
smitten  them  in  battle  at  the  edge  of 
the  sword,  then  Zepho  advised  with 
the  children  of  Chittim,  to  go  to  Egypt 
to  fight  with  the  sons  of  Jacob  and 
with  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt. 

8.  For  Zepho  heard  that  the 
mighty  men  of  Egypt  were  dead  and 
that  Joseph  and  his  brethren  the  sons 
of  Jacob  were  dead,  and  that  all  their 
children  the  children  of  Israel  re- 
mained in  Egypt. 

9.  And  Zepho  considered  to  go  to 

*  i.  e.  After  the  fatigues  of  war,  to  attend 
again  to  domestic  government. 


fight  against  them  and  all  Egypt,  to 
avenge  the  cause  of  his  brethren  the 
children  of  Esau,  whom  Joseph  with 
his  brethren  and  all  Egypt  had  smit- 
ten in  the  land  of  Canaan,  when  they 
went  up  to  bury  Jacob  in  Hebron. 

10.  And  Zepho  sent  messengers 
to  Hadad,  son  of  Bedad,  king  of 
Edom,  and  to  all  his  brethren  the 
children  of  Esau,  saying, 

1 1 .  Did  you  not  say  that  you 
would  not  fight  against  the  king  of 
Africa  for  he  is  a  member  of  yoiir 
covenant  ?  behold  I  fought  with  him 
and  smote  him  and  all  his  people. 

12.  Now  therefore  I  iiave  resolved 
to  fight  against  Egypt  and  the  child- 
ren of  Jacob  who  are  there,  and  I 
will  be  revenged  of  them  for  what 
Joseph,  his  brethren  and  ancestors 
did  to  us  in  the  land  of  Canaan  when 
they  went  up  to  bury  their  father  in 
Hebron. 

13.  Now  then  if  you  are  willing 
to  come  to  me  to  assist  me  in  fight- 
ing against  them  and  Egypt,  then 
shall  we  avenge  the  cause  of  our 
brethren. 

14.  And  the  children  of  Esau  hear- 
kened to  the  words  of  Zepho,  and  the 
children  of  Esau  gathered  themselves 
together,  a  very  great  people,  and 
they  went  to  assist  Zepho  and  the 
children  of  Chittim  in  battle. 

15.  And  Zepho  sent  to  all  the  chil- 
dren of  the  east  and  to  all  the  chil- 
dren of  Ishmael  with  words  like  unto 
these,  and  they  gathered  themselves 
and  came  to  the  assistance  of  Zepho 
and  the  children  of  Chittim  in  the 
war  upon  Egypt. 

16.  And  ail  these  kings,  the  king 
of  Edom  and  the  children  of  the  east, 
and  all  the  children  of  Ishmael,  and 
Zepho  the  king  of  Chittim  went 
forth  and  arrayed  all  their  hosts  in 
Hebron. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASIIER. 


203 


17.  And  the  camp  was  very  heavy, 
extending  in  length  a  distance  of 
three  days'  journey,  a  people  nume- 
rous as  the  sand  upon  the  sea  shore 
which  catuiot  be  counted. 

18.  And  all  these  kings  and  their 
hosts  went  down  and  came  against 
all  Egypt  in  battle,  and  encamped  to- 
gether in  the  valley  of  Palhros. 

19.  And  all  Egypt  heard  their  re- 
port, and  they  also  gatheretl  liiem- 
selves  together,  all  the  people  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,  and  of  all  the  cities 
belonging  to  Egypt,  about  three  hun- 
dred thousand  men. 

20.  And  the  men  of  Egypt  sent 
also  to  the  children  of  Israel  who 
were  in  those  days  in  the  land  of  Go- 
shen, to  come  to  them  in  order  to  go 
and  fight  with  these  kings. 

21.  And  the  men  of  Israel  assem- 
bled and  were  about*  one  hinidred 
and  fifty  men,  and  they  went  into 
battle  to  assist  the  Egyptians. 

22.  And  the  men  of  Israel  and  of 
Egypt  went  forth,  about  three  hun- 
dred thousand  men  and  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  and  they  went  toward 
these  kings  to  battle,  and  they  placed 
themselves  from  without  the  land  of 
Goshen  opposite  Pathros. 

23.  And  the  Egyptians  believed 
not  in  Israel  to  go  with  them  in  their 
camps  together  for  battle,  for  all  the 
Egyptians  said,  perhaps  the  children 
of  Israel  will  deliver  us  into  the  hand 
of  the  children  of  Esau  and  Ishmael, 
for  they  are  their  brethren. 

24.  And  all  the  Egyptians  said 
unto  the  children  of  Israel,  remain 
you  here  together  in  your  stand  and 
we  will  go  and  fi^ht  against  the  chil- 
dren of  Esau  and  Ishmael,  and  if 
these  kings  should  prevail  over  us, 

*  i.  e.  Those  who  were  willing  to  go  amount- 
ed to  150  men,  who  were  nothing  in  sueh  a 
great  army  :  see  the  23d  verse  for  the  cause. 


then  come  you  altogether  upon  them 
and  assist  us,  and  the  children  of  Is- 
rael did  so. 

25.  And  Zepho  the  son  of  Eliphaz 
the  son  of  Esau  king  of  Chiltim,  and 
Hadad  the  son  of  Bedad  king  of 
Edom,  and  all  their  camps,  and  all 
the  children  of  the  east,  and  children 
of  Ishmael,  a  people  numerous  as 
sand,  encamped  together  in  the  val- 
ley of  Palhros  opposite  Tachpanches. 

26.  And  Balaam  the  son  of  Beor 
the  Syrian  was  there  in  the  camp  of 
Zepho.  for  he  came  with  the  children 
of  Chittim  to  ihe  battle,  and  Balaam 
was  *a  man  highly  honored  in  the 
eyes  of  Zepho  and  his  men. 

27.  And  Zepho  said  unto  Balaam, 
try  by  divination  for  us  that  we  may 
know  who  will  prevail  in  the  battle, 
we  or  the  Egyptians. 

28.  And  Balaam  rose  up  and  tried 
the  art  of  divination,  and  he  was  skil- 
ful in  the  knowledge  of  it,  but  he 
was  confused  and  the  work  was  de- 
stroyed in  his  hand. 

29.  And  he  tried  it  again  but  it 
did  not  succeed,  and  Balaam  despair- 
ed of  it  and  left  it  and  did  not  com- 
plete it,  for  this  was  from  the  Lord, 
in  order  to  cause  Zepho  and  his  peo- 
ple to  fall  into  the  hand  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  who  had  trusted  in  the 
Lord,  the  God  of  their  ancestors,  in 
their  war. 

30.  And  Zepho  and  Hadad  put 
their  forces  in  battle  array,  and  all 
the  Egyptians  went  alone  against 
them,  about  three  hundred  thousand 
men,  and  not  one  man  of  Israel  was 
with  them. 

31.  And  all  the  Eijvplians  fought 
with  these  kings  opposite  Pathros 
and  Tachpanches,  and  the  battle  was 
severe  against  the  Egyptians. 

32.  And  the  kinus  were  stronger 
than  the  Egyptians  in  that  battle,  and 


204 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


about  one  hundred  and  eighty  men 
of  Egypt  fell  on  that  day,  and  about 
thirty  men  of  the  forces  of  the  kings, 
and  all  the  men  of  Egypt  fled  from 
before  the  kings,  so  the  children  of 
Esau  and  Ishmael  pursued  the  Egyp- 
tians, continuing  to  smite  them  unto 
the  place  where  was  the  camp  of  the 
children  of  Israel. 

33.  And  all  the  Egyptians  cried 
unto  the  children  of  Israel,  saying, 
hasten  to  us  and  assist  us  and  save 
us  from  the  hand  of  Esau,  Ishmael 
and  the  children  of  Ciiittim. 

34.  And  the  hundred  and  fifty 
men  of  the  children  of  Israel  ran 
from  their  station  to  the  camps  of 
these  kings,  and  the  children  of  Is- 
rael cried  unto  the  Lord  their  God 
to  deliver  them. 

35.  And  the  Lord  hearkened  to 
Israel,  and  the  Lord  gave  all  the 
men  of  the  kings  into  their  hand, 
and  the  children  of  Israel  fought 
against  these  kings,  and  the  children 
of  Israel  smote  about  four  thousand 
of  the  kings'  men. 

36.  And  the  Lord  threw  a  great 
consternation  m  the  camp  of  the 
kings,  so  that  the  fear  of  the  children 
of  Israel  fell  upon  them. 

37.  And  all  the  hosts  of  the  kings 
fled  from  before  the  children  of  Is- 
rael, and  the  children  of  Israel  pur- 
sued them  continuing  to  smite  them 
unto  the  borders  of  the  land  of  Gush. 

38.  And  the  children  of  Israel  slew 
of  them  in  the  road  yet  two  thousand 
men,  and  of  the  children  of  Israel  not 
one  fell. 

39.  And  when  the  Egyptians  saw 
that  the  children  of  Israel  had  fought 
with  such  few  men  with  the  kings, 
and  that  the  battle  was  so  very  severe 
against  them, 

40.  All  the  Egyptians  were  greatly 
afraid  of  their  lives  on  account  of  the 


strong  battle,  and  all  Egypt  fled, 
every  man  hiding  himself  from  the 
arrayed  forces,  and  they  hid  them- 
selves in  the  road,  and  they  left  the 
Israelites  to  fight. 

41.  And  the  children  of  Israel  in- 
flicted a  terrible  blow  upon  the  kino-s' 
men,  and  they  returned  from  them 
after  they  had  driven  them  to  the 
border  of  the  land  of  Gush, 

42.  And  all  Israel  knew  the  thing 
which  the  men  of  Egypt  had  done 
to  them,  that  they  had  fled  from  them 
in  battle,  and  had  left  them  to  fight 
alone. 

43.  So  the  children  of  Israel  also 
acted  with  cunning,  and  as  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  returned  from  battle, 
they  found  some  of  the  Egyptians  in 
the  road  and  smote  them  there. 

44.  And  whilst  they  slew  them, 
they  said  unto  them  these  words, 

45.  Wherefore  did  you  go  from 
us  and  leave  us,  being  a  few  people, 
to  fight  against  these  kings  who  had 
a  great  people  to  smite  us,  that  you 
might  thereby  deliver  your  own 
souls  ? 

46.  And  of  some  which  the  Israel- 
ites met  on  the  road,  they  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  spoke  to  each  other, 
saying,  smite,  smite,  for  he  is  an  Ish- 
maelite,  or  an  Edomite,  or  from  the 
children  of  Ghittim,  and  they  stood 
over  him  and  slew  him,  and  they 
knew  that  he  was  an  Eg\'plian. 

47.  And  the  children  of  Israel  did 
these  things  cunningly  against  the 
Egyptians,  because  they  had  desert- 
ed them  in  battle  and  had  fled  from 
them. 

48.  And  the  children  of  Israel  slew 
of  the  men  of  Egypt  in  the  road  in 
this  manner,  about  two  hundred  men. 

49.  And  all  the  men  of  Egypt  saw 
the  evil  which  the  children  of  Israel 
had  done  to  them,  so  all  Egypt  fear- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JA.SHER. 


205 


ed  greatly  the  children  of  Israel,  for 
they  had  seen  their  great  power,  and 
that  not  one  man  of  tiiem  had  fallen. 
50.  So  all  the  children  of  Israel 
returned  with  joy  on  their  road  to 
Goshen,  and  the  rest  of  Egypt  re- 
turned each  man  to  his  place. 

CHAPTER  LXV. 

1.  And  it  came  to  pass  after  these 
things,  that  all  the  counsellors  of 
Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt,  and  all  the 
elders  of  Egypt  assembled  and  came 
before  the  king  and  bowed  down  to 
the  ground,  and  they  sat  before  him. 

2.  And  the  counsellors  and  elders 
of  Egypt  spoke  unto  the  king,  say- 
ing, "  [ 

3.  Behold  the  people  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  is  greater  and  mightier 
than  we  are,  and  thou  knowest  all 
the  evil  which  they  did  to  us  in  the 
road  when  we  returned  from  battle. 

4.  And  thou  hast  also  seen  their 
strong  power,  for  this  power  is  unto 
them  from  their  fathers,  for  but  a  few 
men  stood  up  against  a  people  nu- 
merous as  the  sand,  and  smote  them 
at  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and  of  them- 
selves not  one  has  fallen,  so  that  if 
they  had  been  numerous  they  would 
then  have  utterly  destroyed  them. 

5.  Now  therefore  give  us  counsel 
what  to  do  with  them,  until  we  gra- 
dually destroy  them  from  amongst 
us,  lest  they  become  too  numerous 
for  us  in  the  land. 

6.  For  if  the  children  of  Israel 
should  increase  in  the  land,  they  will 
become  an  obstacle  to  us,  and  if  any 
war  should  happen  to  take  place,  they 
with  their  great  strength  will  join  our 
enemy  against  us,  and  fight  against 
us,  destroy  us  from  the  land  and  go 
away  from  it. 

7.  So  the  king  answered  the  elders 


of  Egypt  and  said  unto  them,  this  is 
the  plan  advised  against  Israel,  from 
which  we  will  not  depart. 

8.  Behold  in  the  land  are  Pithom 
and  Rameses,  cities  unfortified  against 
battle,  //  behoves  you  and  us  to  build 
them,  and  to  fortify  them. 

9.  Now  therefore  go  you  also  and 
act  cunningly  toward  them,  and  pro- 
claim a  voice  in  Egypt  and  in  Goshen 
at  the  command  of  the  king,  saying, 

10.  All  ye  men  of  Egypt,  Goshen, 
Pathros  and  all  their  inhabitants  !  the 
king  has  commanded  us  to  build  Pi- 
thom and  Rameses,  and  to  fortify 
them  for  battle  ;  who  amongst  you 
of  all  Egypt,  of  the  children  of  Israel 
and  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  cities, 
are  loilling  to  build  with  us,  shall 
each  have  his  wages  given  to  him 
daily  at  the  king's  order ;  so  go  vou 
first  and  do  cunningly,  and  gather 
yourselves  and  come  to  Pithom  and 
Rameses  to  build. 

11.  And  whilst  you  are  building, 
cause  a  proclamation  of  this  kind  to 
be  made  throughout  Egypt  every 
day  at  the  command  of  the  king. 

12.  And  when  some  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  shall  come  to  build 
with  you,  you  shall  give  them  their 
wages  daily  for  a  few  days. 

13.  And  after  they  shall  have  built 
with  you  for  their  daily  hire,  draw 
yourselves  away  from  them  daily  one 
by  one  in  secret,  and  then  you  shall 
rise  up  and  become  their  task-mas- 
ters and  officers,  and  you  shall  leave 
them  afterward  to  build  without  wa- 
ges, and  should  they  refuse,  then 
force  them  with  all  your  might  to 
build. 

14.  And  if  you  do  this  it  will  be 
well  with  us  to  strengthen  our  land 
against  the  children  of  Israel,  for  on 
account  of  the  fatigue  of  the  building 
and  the  work,  the  children  of  Israel 


206 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


will  decrease,  because  you  will  de- 
prive them  from  their  wives  day  by 
day. 

15.  And  all  the  elders  of  Egypt 
heard  the  counsel  of  the  king,  and 
the  counsel  seemed  good  in  their 
eyes  and  in  tlie  eyes  of  the  servants 
of  Pharaoh,  and  in  the  eyes  of  all 
Egypt,  and  they  did  according  to  the 
word  of  the  king. 

16.  And  all  the  servants  went 
away  from  the  king,  and  they  caused 
a  proclamation  to  be  made  in  all 
Egypt,  in  Taclipanches  and  in  Gosh- 
en, and  in  all  the  cities  which  sur- 
rounded Egypt,  saying, 

17.  You  have  seen  what  the  child- 
ren of  Esau  and  Ishmacl  did  to  us, 
who  came  to  war  against  us  and  wish- 
ed to  destroy  us  ; 

18.  Now  therefore  tlie  king  com- 
manded us  to  fortify  the  land,  to 
build  the  cities  Pithom  and  Rameses, 
and  to  fortify  them  for  battle,  if  they 
should  again  come  against  us. 

19.  Whosoever  of  you  from  all 
Egypt  and  from  the  children  of 
Israel  will  come  to  build  with  us, 
he  shall  have  his  daily  wages  given 
by  the  king,  as  his  command  is  unto 
us. 

20.  And  when  Egypt  and  all  the 
children  of  Israel  heard  all  that  the 
servants  of  Pharaoh  had  spoken, 
there  came  from  the  Egj'ptians  and 
the  children  of  Israel  to  build  with 
the  servants  of  Pharaoh,  Pithom  and 
Rameses,  but  none  of  the  children 
of  Levi  came  with  their  brethren  to 
build. 

21.  And  all  the  servants  of  Pha- 
raoh and  his  princes  came  at  first 
with  deceit  to  build  with  all  Israel  as 
daily  hired  laborers,  and  they  gave 
to  Israel  their  daily  hire  at  the  be- 
ginning. 

22.  And  the  servants  of  Pharaoh 


built  with  all  Israel,  and  were  en> 
ployed  in  that  work  with  Israel  for 
a  month. 

23.  And  at  the  end  of  the  month, 
all  the  servants  of  Pharaoh  began  to 
withdraw  secretly  from  the  people  of 
Israel  daily. 

24.  And  Israel  went  on  with  the 
work  at  that  time,  but  they  then  re- 
ceived their  daily  hire,  because  some 
of  llie  men  of  Egypt  were  yet  carry- 
ing on  the  work  with  Israel  at  that 
time  ;  therefore  the  Egyptians  gave 
Israel  their  hire  in  those  days,  in 
order  that  they,  the  Egyptians  their 
fellow  workmen,  might  also  take  the 
pay  for  their  labour. 

25.  And  at  the  end  of  a  year  and 
four  months  all  the  Egyptians  had 
withdrawn  from  the  children  of 
Israel,  so  that  the  children  of  Israel 
were  left  alone  engaged  in  the  work. 

26.  And  after  all  the  Egyptians 
had  withdrawn  from  the  children  of 
Israel  they  returned  and  became  op- 
pressors and  officers  over  them,  and 
some  of  them  stood  over  the  children 
of  Israel  as  task  masters,  to  receive 
from  them  all  that  they  gave  them 
for  the  pay  of  their  labour. 

27.  And  the  Egyptians  did  in  this 
manner  to  the  children  of  Israel  day 
by  day,  in  order  to  afflict  the  Israel- 
ites in  their  work. 

28.  And  all  the  children  of  Israel 
were  alone  engaged  in  the  labor,  and 
the  Egyptians  refrained  from  giving 
any  pay  to  the  children  of  Israel 
from  that  time  forward. 

29.  And  when  some  of  the  men 
of  Israel  refused  to  work  on  account 
of  the  wages  not  being  given  to  them, 
then  the  exactors  and  the  servants  of 
Pharaoh  oppressed  them  and  smote 
them  with  heavy  blows,  and  made 
them  return  by  force,  to  labor  with 
their    brethren ;    thus    did    all    the 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


207 


Egyptians  unto  the  children  of  Israel 
all  the  days. 

30.  And  all  the  children  of  Israel 
were  greatly  afraid  of  the  Egyptians 
in  this  matter,  and  all  the  children 
of  Israel  returned  and  worked  alone 
without  pay. 

31.  And  the  children  of  Israel  built 
Pithom  and  Rameses,  and  all  tiie 
children  of  Israel  did  the  work,  some 
making  bricks,  and  some  building, 
and  the  children  of  Israel  built  and 
fortified  all  the  land  of  Egypt  and 
its  walls,  and  the  children  of  Israel 
were  engaged  in  work  for  many 
years,  until  the  time  came  when  the 
Lord  remembered  them  and  brought 
them  out  of  Egypt. 

32.  But  the  children  of  Levi  were 
not  employed  in  the  work  with  their 
brethren  of  Israel,  from  the  beginning 
unto  the  day  of  their  going  forth  from 
Egypt. 

33.  For  all  the  children  of  Levi 
knew  that  the  Egyptians  had  spoken 
all  these  words  with  deceit  to  the 
Israelites,  therefore  the  children  of 
Levi  refrained  from  approaching  to 
the  work  with  their  brethren. 

34.  And  the  Egyptians  did  not 
direct  their  attention  to  make  the 
children  of  Levi  work  afterward, 
since  they  had  not  been  with  their 
brethren  at  the  beginning,  therefore 
the  Egyptians  left  them  alone. 

35.  And  the  hands  of  the  men  of 
Egypt  were  directed  with  continued 
severity  against  the  children  of  Israel 
in  that  work,  and  the  Eg}'ptians 
made  the  children  of  Israel  work 
with  rigor. 

36.  And  the  Egyptians  embittered 
the  lives  of  the  children  of  Israel 
with  hard  work,  in  mortar  and  bricks, 
and  also  in  all  manner  of  work  in  the 
field. 

37.  And   the    children   of    Israel 


called  Melol  the  king  of  Egypt 
"  Meror,*  king  of  Egypt,"  because 
in  his  days  the  Egyptians  had  em- 
bittered their  lives  with  all  manner 
of  work. 

38.  And  all  the  work  wherein  the 
Egyptians  made  the  chiKlrcn  of 
Israel  labor,  they  exacted  with  rigor, 
in  order  to  afflict  the  children  of 
Israel,  but  the  more  they  afflicted 
them,  the  more  they  increased  and 
grew,  and  the  Egyptians  were  griev- 
ed because  of  the  children  of  Israel. 

CHAPTER  LXVI. 

\.  At  that  lime  died  Hadad  the 
son  of  Bedad  king  of  Edom,  and 
Samlah  from  Mesrekah,  from  the 
country  of  the  children  of  the  east, 
reigned  in  his  place. 

2.  In  the  thirteenth  year  of  the 
reign  of  Pharaoh  king  of  Eerypt, 
which  was  the  hundred  and  twenty 
fifth  year  of  the  Israelites  going 
down  into  Egypt,  Samlah  had  reign- 
ed over  Edom  eighteen  years. 

3.  And  when  he  reigned,  he  drew 
forth  his  hosts  to  go  and  fight  against 
Zepho  the  son  of  Eliphaz  and  the 
children  of  Chittim,  because  they 
had  made  war  against  Angeas  king 
of  Africa,  and  they  destroyed  his 
whole  army. 

4.  But  he  did  not  engage  with  him, 
for  the  children  of  Esau  prevented 
him,  saying  he  was  their  brother,  so 
Samlah  listened  to  the  voice  of  the 
children  of  Esau,  and  turned  back 
with  all  his  forces  to  the  land  of 
Edom,  and  did  not  proceed  to  fight 
against  Zepho  the  son  of  Eliphaz. 

5.  And  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt 
heard  this  thing,  saying,  Samlah 
king  of  Edom  has  resolved  to  fight 
the  children  of  Chittim,  and  after- 

*  niTD  from  tid  to  embitter. 


208 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


ward  he  will  come  to  fight  against 
Egypt. 

6.  And  when  the  Egyptians  heard 
this  nnatter,  they  increased  the  labor 
upon  the  children  of  Israel,  lest  the 
Israelites  should  do  unto  them  as 
ihey  did  unto  them  in  their  war  with 
the  children  of  Esau  in  the  days  of 
Hadad. 

7.  So  the  Egyptians  said  unto 
the  children  of  Israel,  hasten  and  do 
your  work,  and  finish  your  task,  and 
strengthen  the  land,  lest  the  children 
of  Esau  your  brethren  should  come 
to  fight  against  us,  for  on  your  ac- 
count will  they  come  against  us. 

S.  And  the  children  of  Israel  did 
the  work  of  the  men  of  Egypt  day 
by  day,  and  the  Egyptians  afflicted 
the  children  of  Israel  in  order  to  les- 
sen them  in  the  land. 

9.  But  as  the  Egyptians  increased 
the  labor  upon  the  children  of  Israel, 
so  did  the  children  of  Israel  increase 
and  multiply,  and  all  Egypt  was  fill- 
ed with  the  children  of  Israel. 

10.  And  in  the  hundred  and  twen- 
ty fifth  year  of  Israel's  going  down 
into  Egypt,  all  the  Egyptians  saw 
that  their  counsel  did  not  succeed 
against  Israel,  but  that  they  increas- 
ed and  grew,  and  the  land  of  Egypt 
and  the  land  of  Goshen  were  filled 
with  the  children  of  Israel. 

1 1 .  So  all  the  elders  of  Egypt  and 
its  wise  men  came  before  the  king 
and  bowed  down  to  him  and  sat  be- 
fore him. 

12.  And  all  the  elders  of  Egypt 
and  the  wise  men  thereof  said  unto 
the  king,  may  the  king  live  forever ; 
thou  didst  counsel  vis  the  counsel 
against  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
we  did  unto  them  according  to  the 
word  of  the  king. 

13.  But  in  proportion  to  the  in- 
crease  of  the  labor  so  do  tliey  in- 


crease and  grow  in  the  land,  and  be- 
hold the  whole  country  is  filled  with 
them. 

14.  Now  therefore  our  lord  and 
king,  the  eyes  of  all  Egypt  are  up- 
on thee  to  give  them  advice  with  thy 
wisdom,  by  which  they  may  prevail 
over  Israel  to  destroy  them,  or  to 
diminish  them  from  the  land  ;  and 
the  king  answered  them,  saying,  give 
you  counsel  in  this  mattter  that  we 
may  know  what  to  do  unto  them, 

15.  And  an  officer,  one  of  the 
king's  counsellors,  whose  name  was 
Job,  from  Mesopotamia,  in  the  land 
of  Uz,  answered  the  king,  saying, 

16.  If  it  please  the  king,  let  him 
hear  the  counsel  of  his  servant ;  and 
the  king  said  unto  him,  speak. 

17.  And  Job  spoke  before  the 
king,  the  princes,  and  before  all  the 
elders  of  Egypt,  saying, 

1 8.  Behold  the  counsel  of  the  king 
which  he  advised  formerly  respect- 
ing the  labor  of  the  children  of  Is- 
rael is  very  good,  and  you  must  not 
remove  from  them  that  labor  forever. 

19.  But  thi*  is  the  advice  coun- 
selled by  which  you  may  lessen 
them,  if  it  seems  good  to  the  king  to 
afflict  them. 

20.  Behold  we  have  feared  war 
for  a  long  time,  and  we  said,  when 
Israel  becomes  fruitful  in  the  land, 
they  will  drive  us  from  the  land  if  a 
war  should  take  place. 

21.  If  it  please  the  king,  let  a 
royal  decree  go  forth,  and  let  it  be 
written  in  the  laws  of  Egypt  which 
shall  not  be  revoked,  that  every  male 
child  born  to  the  Israelites,  his 
blood  shall  be  spilled  upon  the 
ground. 

22.  And  by  your  doing  this,  when 
all  the  male  children  of  Israel 
shall  have  died,  the  evil  of  their 
wars  will  cease  ;  let  the  king  do  so 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


209 


and  send  for  all  the  Hebrew  mid- 
wives  and  order  them  in  this  matter 
to  execute  it ;  so  the  thing  pleased 
the  king  and  the  princes,  and  the 
king  did  according  to  the  word  of 
Job. 

23.  And  the  king  sent  for  the  He- 
brew midwivcs  to  be  called,  of 
which  the  name  of  one  was  Sheph- 
rah,  and  the  name  of  the  other  Puah. 

24.  And  the  midwives  came  be- 
fore the  king,  and  stood  in  his  pre- 
sence. 

25.  And  the  king  said  mito  them, 
when  you  do  the  olHce  of  a  midwife 
to  the  Hebrew  women,  and  see  them 
upon  the  stools,  if  it  be  a  son,  then 
you  shall  kill  him,  but  if  it  be  a 
daughter,  then  she  shall  live. 

26.  But  if  you  will  not  do  this 
thing,  then  will  I  burn  you  up  and 
all  your  houses  with  fire. 

27.  But  the  midwives  feared  God 
and  did  not  hearken  to  the  king  of 
Egypt  nor  to  his  words,  and  when 
the  Hebrew  women  brought  forth  to 
the  midwife  son  or  daughter,  then 
did  the  midwife  do  all  that  was  neces- 
sary to  the  child  and  let  it  live  ;  thus 
did  the  midwives  all  the  days. 

28.  And  this  thing  was  told  to  the 
king,  and  he  sent  and  called  for  the 
midwives  and  he  said  to  them,  why 
have  you  done  this  thing  and  have 
saved  the  children  alive  ? 

29.  And  the  midwives  answered, 
and  spoke  together  before  the  king, 
saying, 

30.  Let  not  the  king  think  that  the 
Hebrew  women  are  as  the  Egyptian 
women,  for  all  the  children  of  Israel 
are  hale,*  and  before  the  midwife 
comes  to  them  they  are  delivered, 
and  as  for   us   thy  handmaids,    for 

*njn  nvn  'D  same  as  in  Exodus,  ch.  1,  v.  19, 
•where  the  English  version  is  "  for  they  are  live- 
ly"    I  prefer  my  translation. 

14 


many  days  no  Hebrew  woman  has 
brought  forth  upon  us,  for  all  the 
Hebrew  women  are  their  own  mid- 
wives,  because  they  are  hale. 

31.  And  Pliaraoh  iicard  their 
words  and  believed  them  in  this  mat- 
ter, and  the  midwives  went  away 
from  the  king,  and  God  dealt  well 
with  them,  and  the  people  multiplied 
and  waxed  exceedingly. 

CHAPTER  LXVH, 

1.  There  was  a  man  in  the  land  of 
Egypt  of  the  seed  of  Levi,  whose 
name  was  Amram,  the  son  of  Ke- 
hath,  the  son  of  Levi,  the  son  of  Is- 
rael. 

2.  And  this  man  went  and  took  a 
wife,  namely  Jochebed  the  daughter 
of  Levi  his  father's  sister,  and  she 
was  one  hundred  and  twenty  six 
years  old,  and  he  came  unto  her. 

3.  And  the  woman  conceived  and 
bare  a  daughter,  and  she  called  her 
name  Miriam,  because  in  those  days 
the  Egyptians  had  embittered  the 
lives  of  the  children  of  Israel. 

4.  And  she  conceived  again  and 
bare  a  son  and  she  called  his  name 
Aaron,  for  in  the  days  of  her  concep- 
tion, Pharaoh  began  to  spill  the 
blood  of  the  male  children  of  Israel, 

5.  In  those  days  died  Zepho 
the  son  of  Eliphaz,  son  of  Esau, 
king  of  Chittim,  and  Janeas  reigned 
in  his  stead. 

6.  And  the  time  that  Zepho  reign- 
ed over  the  children  of  Chittim  was 
fifty  years,  and  he  died  and  was 
buried  in  the  city  of  Nabna  in  the 
land  of  Chittim. 

7.  And  Janeas,  one  of  the  mighty 
men  of  the  children  of  Chittim, 
reigned  after  him  and  he  reigned 
fifty  years. 

8.  And  it  was  after  the  death  of 


210 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


the  king  of  Chiitim  that  Balaam  the 
son  of  Beor  fled  from  the  land  of 
Chittim,  and  he  went  and  came  to 
Egypt  to  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt. 

9.  And  Pharaoh  received  him  with 
great  honor,  for  he  had  heard  of  his 
wisdom,  and  he  gave  him  presents 
and  made  him  for  a  counsellor,  and 
affffrandized  him. 

10.  And  Balaam  dwelt  m  Egypt, 
in  honor  with  all  the  nobles  of  the 
king,  and  the  nobles  exalted  him,  be- 
cause they  all  coveted  to  learn  his 
wisdom. 

1 1 .  And  in  the  hundred  and  thir- 
tieth year  of  Israel's  going  down  to 
Egypt,  Pharaoh  dreamed  that  he  was 
sitting  upon  his  kingly  throne,  and 
lifted  up  his  eyes  and  saw  an  old 
man  standing  before  him,  and  there 
were  scales  in  the  hands  of  the  old 
man,  such  scales  as  ai'e  used  by  mer- 
chants. 

12.  And  the  old  man  took  the 
scales  and  hung  them  before  Pha- 
raoh. 

13.  And  the  old  man  took  all  the 
elders  of  Egypt  and  all  its  nobles 
and  great  men,  and  he  lied  them  to- 
gether and  put  them  in  one  scale. 

14.  And  he  took  a  milk  kid  and 
put  it  into  the  other  scale,  and  the 
kid  preponderated  over  all. 

15.  And  Pharaoh  was  astonished 
at  this  dreadful  vision,  why  the  kid 
should  preponderate  over  all,  and 
Pharaoh  woke  and  behold  it  was  a 
dream. 

16.  And  Pharaoh  rose  up  early  in 
the  morning  and  called  all  his  ser- 
vants and  related  to  them  the  dream, 
and  the  men  were  greatly  afraid. 

17.  And  the  king  said  to  all  his 
wise  men,  interpret  I  pray  you  the 
dream  which  I  dreamed,  that  I  may 
know  it. 

18.  And  Balaam  the  son  of  Beor 


answered  the  king  and  said  unto  hiro, 
this  means  nothing  else  but  a  great 
evil  that  will  spring  up  against  Egypt 
in  the  latter  days. 

19.  For  a  son  will  be  born  to  Is- 
rael wlio  will  destroy  all  Egypt  and 
its  inhabitants,  and  bring  forth  the 
Israelites  from  Egypt  with  a  mighty 
hand. 

20.  Now  therefore  O  king,  take 
counsel  upon  this  matter,  that  you 
may  destroy  the  hope  of  the  children 
of  Israel  and  their  expectation,  before 
this  evil  arise  against  Egypt. 

21 .  And  the  king  said  unto  Balaam, 
and  what  shall  we  do  unto  Israel  ? 
surely  after  a  certain  manner  did  we 
at  first  counsel  against  them  and 
could  not  prevail  over  them. 

22.  Now  therefore  give  you  also 
advice  against  them  by  which  we 
may  prevail  over  them. 

23.  And  Balaam  answered  the 
king,  saying,  send  now  and  call  thy 
two  counsellors,  and  we  will  see 
what  their  advice  is  upon  this  matter 
and  afterward  thy  servant  will  speak. 

24.  And  the  king  sent  and  called 
his  two  counsellors  Reuel  the  Midi- 
anite  and  Job  the  Uzite,  and  they 
came  and  sat  before  the  king. 

25.  And  the  king  said  to  them, 
behold  you  have  both  heard  the  dream 
which  I  have  dreamed,  and  the  in- 
terpretation thereof;  now  therefore 
give  counsel  and  know  and  see  what 
is  to  be  done  to  the  children  of  Is- 
rael, whereby  we  may  prevail  over 
them,  before  their  evil  shall  spring 
up  against  us. 

26.  And  Reuel  the  Midianite  an- 
swered the  king  and  said,  may  the 
king  live,  may  the  king  live  forever. 

27.  If  It  seem  good  to  the  king, 
let  him  desist  from  the  Hebrews  and 
leave  them,  and  let  him  not  stretch 
forth  his  hand  against  them. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


211 


28.  For  these  are  they  whom  the 
Lord  chose  in  days  of  old,  and  look 
as  the  lot  of  his  inheritance  from 
amongst  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
and  the  kings  of  the  earth  ;  and  who 
is  there  that  stretched  his  hand 
against  them  with  impunity,  of  whom 
their  God  was  not  avenged  ? 

29.  Surely  thou  knowest  that 
when  Abraham  went  down  to  Egypt, 
Pharaoh,  the  former  king  of  Egypt, 
saw  Sarah  his  wife,  and  took  licr  for 
a  wife,  because  Abraham  said,  she  is 
my  sister,  for  he  was  afraid,  lest  the 
men  of  Egypt  should  slay  him  on 
account  of  his  wife. 

30.  And  when  the  king  of  Egypt 
had  taken  Sarah  then  God  smote  him 
and  his  household  with  heavy  plagues, 
until  he  restored  unto  Abraham  his 
wife  Sarah,  then  was  he  healed. 

31.  And  Abimelech  the  Gerarite, 
king  of  the  Philistines,  God  punished 
on  account  of  Sarah  wife  of  Abraham, 
in  stopping  up  every  womb  from 
man  to  beast. 

32.  When  their  God  came  to 
Abimelech  in  the  dream  of  night  and 
terrified  him,  in  order  that  he  might 
restore  to  Abraham  Sarah  whom  he 
had  taken,  and  afterward  all  the  peo- 
ple of  Gerar  were  punished  on  ac- 
count of  Sarah,  and  Abraham  prayed 
to  his  God  for  them,  and  he  was  in- 
treated  of  him,  and  he  healed  them. 

33.  And  Abimelech  feared  all  this 
evil  that  came  upon  him  and  his  peo- 
ple, and  he  returned  to  Abraham  his 
wife  Sarah,  and  gave  him  with  her 
many  gifts. 

34.  He  did  so  also  to  Isaac  when 
he  had  driven  him  from  Gerar,  and 
God  had  done  wonderful  things  to 
him,  that  all  the  water  courses  of 
Gerar  were  dried  up,  and  their  pro- 
ductive trees  did  not  bring  forth. 

35.  Until   Abimelech   of   Gerar, 


and  Ahuzzath  one  of  his  friends,  and 
Pichol  the  captain  of  his  host,  went 
to  him  and  they  bent  and  bowed 
down  before  him  to  the  ground, 

36.  And  they  requested  of  him  to 
supplicate  for  them,  and  he  prayed 
to  the  Lord  for  them,  and  the  Lord 
was  intreated  of  him  and  he  healed 
them. 

37.  Jacob  also,  the  plain  man,  was 
delivered  through  his  integrity  from 
the  hand  of  his  brother  Esau,  and 
the  hand  of  Laban  the  Syrian  his 
mother's  brother,  who  had  sought  hi» 
life ;  likewise  from  the  hand  of  all 
the  kings  of  Canaan  who  had  come 
together  against  him  and  his  children 
to  destroy  them,  and  the  Lord  deliv- 
ered them  out  of  their  hands,  that 
they  turned  upon  them  and  smote 
them,  for  who  had  ever  stretched 
forth  his  hand  against  them  with  im- 
punity ? 

38.  Surely  Pharaoh  the  former, 
thy  father's  father,  raised  Joseph 
the  son  of  Jacob  above  all  the  prin- 
ces of  the  land  of  Eg}''pt,  when  he 
saw  his  wisdom,  for  through  his  wis- 
dom he  rescued  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  land  from  the  famine. 

39.  After  which  he  ordered  Jacob 
and  his  children  to  come  down  to 
Egypt,  in  order  that  through  their 
virtue,  the  land  of  Egypt  and  the 
land  of  Goshen  might  be  delivered 
from  the  famine. 

40.  Now  therefore  if  it  seem  good 
in  thine  eyes,  cease  from  destroying 
the  children  of  Israel,  but  if  it  be 
not  thy  will  that  they  shall  dwell  in 
Egypt,  send  them  forth  from  here, 
that  they  may  go  to  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, the  land  where  their  ancestors 
sojourned. 

41.  And  when  Pharaoh  heard  the 
words  of  Jethro  he  was  very  angry 
with  him,  so  that  he  rose  with  shame 


212 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


from  the  king's  presence,  and  went 
to  Midian,  his  land,  and  took  Joseph's 
stick  with  him. 

42.  And  the  king  said  to  Job  the 
Uzite,  what  sayest  thou  Job,  and 
what  is  thy  advice  respecting  the 
Hebrews  ? 

43.  So  Job  said  to  the  king,  behold 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  are  in 
thy  power,  let  the  king  do  as  it 
seems  good  in  his  eyes. 

44.  And  the  king  said  unto  Ba- 
laam, what  dost  thou  say,  Balaam, 
speak  thy  word  that  we  may  hear  it. 

45.  And  Balaam  said  to  the  king, 
of  all  that  the  kini^  has  counselled 
against  the  Hebrews  will  they  be 
delivered,  and  the  king  will  not  be 
able  to  prevail  over  them  with  any 
counsel. 

46.  For  if  thou  thinkest  to  lessen 
them  by  the  flaming  fire,  thou  canst 
not  prevail  over  them,  for  surely 
their  God  delivered  Abraham  their 
father  from  Ur*  of  the  Chaldeans  ; 
and  if  thou  thinkest  to  destroy  them 
with  a  sword,  surely  Isaac  their 
father  was  delivered  from  it,  and  a 
ram  was  placed  in  his  stead. 

47.  And  if  with  hard  and  rigor- 
ous labor  thou  thinkest  to  lessen 
them,  thou  wilt  not  prevail  even  in 
this,  for  their  father  Jacob  served 
Laban  in  all  manner  of  hard  work, 
and  prospered. 

48.  Now  therefore,  O  King,  hear 
my  words,  for  this  is  the  counsel 
which  is  counselled  against  them,  by 
which  thou  wilt  prevail  over  them, 
and  from  which  thou  shouldst  not 
depart. 

49.  If  it  please  the  king  let  him 
order  all  their  children  which  shall 
be  born  from  this  day  forward,  to  be 

*  It  was  stated  before  that  i^n  was  a  fire  in 
which  Abraham  was  put,  and  from  which  God 
dehvered  him. 


thrown  into  the  water,  for  by  this 
canst  thou  wipe  away  their  name, 
for  none  of  them,  nor  of  their  fathers, 
were*  tried  in  this  manner. 

50.  And  the  king  heard  the  words 
of  Balaam,  and  the  thing  pleased  the 
king  and  the  princes,  and  the  king 
did  according  to  the  word  of  Balaam. 

51.  And  the  king  ordered  a  pro- 
clamation to  be  issued  and  a  law  to 
be  made  throughout  the  land  of 
Egypt,  saying,  every  male  child 
born  to  the  Hebrews  from  this  day 
forward  shall  be  thrown  into  the 
water. 

52.  And  Pharaoh  called  unto  all 
his  servants,  saying,  go  now  and  seek 
throughout  the  land  of  Goshen  where 
the  children  of  Israel  are,  and  see 
that  every  son  born  to  the  Hebrews 
shall  be  cast  into  the  river,  but  every 
daughter  you  shall  let  live. 

53.  And  when  the  children  of 
Israel  heard  this  thing  which  Pha- 
raoh had  commanded,  to  cast  their 
male  children  into  the  river,  some 
of  the  people  separated  from  their 
wives  and  others  adhered  to  them. 

54.  And  from  that  day  forward, 
when  the  time  of  delivery  arrived  to 
those  women  of  Israel  who  had  re- 
mained with  their  husbands,  they 
went  to  the  field  to  bring  forth  there, 
and  they  brought  forth  in  the  field, 
and  left  their  children  upon  the  field 
and  returned  home. 

55.  And  the  Lord  who  had  sworn 
to  their  ancestors  to  multiply  them, 
sent  one  of  his  ministering  angels 
which  are  in  heaven  to  wash  each 
child  in  water,  to  anoint  and  swathe 
it  and  to  put  into  its  hands  two 
smooth  stones  from  one  of  which  it 
sucked  milk  and  from  the  other 
honey,  and  he  caused  its  hair  to 
grow  to  his  knees,  by  which  it  might 

*  Had  any  miraculous  escape  from  water. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


213 


cover  itself,  to*  comfort  it  and  to 
cleave  to  it,  througli  his  compassion 
for  it. 

56.  And  when  God  had  compas- 
sion over  ihem  and  had  desired  to 
multiply  them  upon  the  face  of  the 
land,  he  ordered  his  earth  to  receive 
them  to  be  preserved  therein  till  the 
time  of  their  growing  up,  after  whicii 
the  earth  opened  its  mouth  and 
vomited  them  forth  andt  they  sprout- 
ed forth  from  the  city  like  ihe  herb 
of  the  earth  and  tiie  grass  of  the 
forest,  and  they  returned  each  to  his 
family  and  to  his  father's  house,  and 
they  remained  with  them. 

57.  And  the  babes  of  the  children 
of  Israel  were  upon  the  earth  like 
the  herb  of  the  field,  through  God's 
grace  to  them. 

58.  And  when  all  the  Egyptians 
saw  this  thing,  they  went  forth,  each 
to  his  field  with  his  yoke  of  oxen  and 
his  ploughshare,  and  they  ploughed 
it  up  as  one  ploughs  the  earth  at  seed 
time. 

59.  And  when  they  ploughed  they 
were  unable  to  hurt  the  infants  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  so  the  people  in- 
creased and  waxed  exceedingly 

60.  And  Pharaoh  ordered  his 
officers  daily  to  go  to  Goshen  to 
seek  for  the  babes  of  the  children  of 
Israel. 

61.  And  when  they  had  sought 
and  found  one,  they  took  it  from  its 
mother's  bosom  by  force,  and  threw 
it  into  the  river,  but  the  female  child 
they  left  with  its  mother  ;  thus  did 
the  Egyptians  do  to  the  Israelites 
all  the  days. 

*  i.  e.  That  the  angel  was  to  comfort  it  and 
cleave  to  it. 

t  'p^n  3C'5J3  TJD  iK'Xn ;  the  same  sentence  is 
to  be  found  in  Psalm  2,  v.  16,  upon  which  the 
Rabbins  formed  this  fable,  and  which  has  no 
connexion  with  it. 


CHAPTER  LXVIII. 

1.  And  it  was  at  that  time  the  spirit 
of  God  was  upon  Miriam  the  daugh- 
ter of  Amram  the  sister  of  Aaron, 
and  she  went  forth  and  propiiccied 
about  the  house,  saying,  behold  a 
son  will  be  born  unto  us  from  my 
father  and  mother  this  time,  and  he 
will  save   Israel  from  the  hands   of 

2.  And  when  Amram  heard  the 
words  of  his  daughter,  he  went  and 
took  his  wife  back  to  the  house,  after 
he  had  driven  her  away  at  the  lime 
when  Pharaoh  ordered  every  male 
child  of  the  house  of  Jacob  to  be 
thrown  into  the  water. 

3.  8o  Amram  took  Jochcbcd  his 
wife,  three  years  after  he  had  driven 
her  away,  and  he  came  to  her  and 
she  conceived. 

4.  And  at  the  end  of  seven  months 
from  her  conception  she  brought 
forth  a  son,  and  the  whole  house  was 
filled  with  great  light  as  of  the  light 
of  the  sun  and  moon  at  the  time  of 
their  shining. 

5.  And  when  the  woman  saw  the 
child  that  it  was  good  and  pleasing 
to  the  sight,  she  hid  it  for  three 
months  in  an  inner  room. 

6.  In  those  days  the  Egyptians 
conspired  to  destroy  all  the  Hebrews 
there. 

7.  And  the  Egyptian  women  went 
to  Goshen  where  the  children  of 
Israel  were,  and  they  carried  their 
young  ones  upon  their  shoulders, 
their  babes  who  could  not  yet  speak. 

8.  And  in  those  days,  when  the 
women  of  the  children  of  Israel 
brought  forth,  each  woman  had  hid- 
den her  son  from  before  the  Egyp- 
tians, that  the  Egyptians  might  not 
know  of  their  bringing  forth,  and 
might  not  destroy  them  from  the  land. 


214 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


9.  And  the  Egyptian  women  came 
to  Goshen  and  their  children  who 
could  not  speak  were  upon  their 
shoulders,  and  when  an  Egyptian 
woman  came  into  the  house  of  a 
Hebrew  luoman  her  babe  began  to  cry. 

10.  And  when  it  cried  the  child 
that  was  in  the  inner  room  answered 
it,  so  the  Egyptian  women  went  and 
told  it  at  the  house  of  Pharaoh. 

1 1 .  And  Pharaoh  sent  his  officers 
to  take  the  children  and  slay  them  ; 
thus  did  the  Egyptians  to  the  Hebrew 
women  all  the  days. 

12.  And  it  was  at  that  time,  about 
three  months  from  Jochebed's  con- 
cealment of  her  son,  that  the  thing 
was  known  in  Pharaoh's  house. 

13.  And  the  woman  hastened  to 
take  away  her  son  before  the  officers 
came,  and  she  took  for  him  an  ark 
of  bulrushes,  and  daubed  it  with  slime 
and  with  pitch,  and  put  the  child 
therein,  and  she  laid  it  in  the  flags 
by  the  river's  brink. 

14.  And  his  sister  Miriam  stood 
afar  off  to  know  what  would  be  done 
to  him,  and  what  would  become  of 
her  words  * 

15.  And  God  sent  forth  at  that 
time  a  terrible  heat  in  the  land  of 
Egypt,  which  burned  up  the  flesh 
of  man  like  the  sun  in  his  circuit,  and 
it  greatly  oppressed  the  Egyptians. 

16.  And  all  the  Egyptians  went 
down  to  bathe  in  the  river,  on  account 
of  the  consuming  heat  which  burned 
up  their  flesh. 

17.  And  Bathia,  the  daughter  of 
Pharaoh,  went  also  to  bathe  in  the 
river,  owing  to  the  consuming  heat, 
and  her  maidens  walked  at  the  river 
side,  and  all  the  women  of  Egyptf 
as  well. 

*  Her  prophecy,  mentioned  in  v.  1. 
t  Walked  about  in  respectful  attendance  on 
Bathia. 


18.  And  Bathia  lifted  up  her  eyes 
to  the  river,  and  she  saw  the  ark  up- 
on the  water,  and  sent  her  maid  to 
fetch  it. 

19.  And  she  opened  it  and  saw  the 
child,  and  behold  the  babe  wept,  and 
she  had  compassion  on  him,  and  she 
said,  this  is  one  of  the  Hebrew  chil- 
dren. 

20.  And  all  the  women  of  Egypt 
walking  on  the  river  side  desired  to 
give  him  suck,  but  he  would  not  suck, 
for  this  thing  was  from  the  Lord,  in 
order  to  restore  him  to  his  mother's 
breast. 

21.  And  Miriam  his  sister  was  at 
that  time  amongst  the  Egyptian  wo- 
men at  the  river  side,  and  she  saw 
this  thing  and  she  said  to  Pharaoh's 
daughter,  shall  I  go  and  fetch  a  nurse 
of  the  Hebrew  women,  that  she  may 
nurse  the  child  for  thee  ? 

22.  And  Pharaoh's  daughter  said 
to  her,  go,  and  the  young  woman 
went  and  called  the  child's  mother. 

23.  And  Pharaoh's  daughter  said 
to  Jochebed,  take  this  child  away 
and  suckle  it  for  me,  and  I  will  pay 
thee  thy  wages,  two  bits  of  silver 
daily  ;  and  the  woman  took  the  child 
and  nursed  it. 

24.  And  at  the  end  of  two  years, 
when  the  child  grew  up,  she  brought 
him  to  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh,  and 
he  was  unto  her  as  a  son,  and  she 
called  his  name  Moses,  for  she  said, 
because  I  drew  him  out  of  the  water 

25.  And*  Amram  his  father  called 
his  name  Chabar,  for  he  said,  it  was 

*These  different  names  arise  from  a  Rabbinical 
torture  of  a  genealogical  account  in  1  Chroni- 
cles, ch.  4,  V.  18,  which  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  birth  of  Moses,  only  a  woman's  name,  Ba- 
thia, daughter  of  Pharaoh,  whom  Mered  took, 
and  by  a  similarity  of  name  to  the  great  Pharaoh 
king  of  Egypt,  as  if  no  private  person  could  be 
called  so,  they  imagined  it  must  have  been  Mo- 
ses the  adopted  son  of  king  Pharaoh's  daughter. 
The  same  story  is  in  the  Talmud. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHLR. 


215 


for  him  that  he  associated  with  his 
wife  whom  he  had  turned  away. 

26.  And  Jochcbcd  his  mother 
called  his  naine  Jekulhicl,  because, 
she  said,  J  have  hoped  for  him  to  the 
Almighty,  and  God  restored  him  un- 
to me. 

27.  And  Miriam  his  sister  called 
him  Jered,  for  she  descended  after 
him  to  the  river  to  know  what  his 
end  would  be. 

2S.  And  Aaron  his  brother  called 
his  name  Abi  Zanuch,  saying,  my 
father  left  my  mother  and  returned 
to  her  on  his  account. 

29.  And  Kehath  the  father  of  Am- 
ram  called  his  name  Abigdor,  because 
on  his  account  did  God  repair  the 
breach  of  the  house  of  Jacob,  that 
they  could  no  longer  throw  their  male 
children  into  the  water. 

30.  And  their  nurse  called  him 
Abi  Socho,  saying,  in  his  tabernacle 
was  he  hidden  for  three  months,  on 
account  of  the  children  of  Ham.* 

31.  And  allt  Israel  called  his  name 
Shemaiah,  son  of  Nethanel,  for  they 
said,  in  his  days  has  God  heard  their 
cries  and  rescued  them  from  their 
oppressors. 

32.  And  Moses  was  in  Pharaoh's 
house,  and  was  unto  Bathia,  Pha- 
raoh's daughter,  as  a  son,  and  Moses 
grew  up  amongst  the  king's  children. 

CHAPTER  LXIX. 

1 .  And  the  king  of  Edom  died  in 
those  days,  in  the  eighteenth  year  of 
his  reign,  and  was  buried  in  his  tem- 
ple which  he  had  built  for  himself  as 
his  royal  residence  in  the  land  of 
Edom. 

*  The  Egyptians. 

+  They  must  have  called  him  so  after  the  ex- 
odus, or  about  the  timn  ;  but  I  conjecture  the 
whole  of  this  part  a  spurious  addition,  extracted 
from  the  Rabbinical  works. 


2.  And  the  children  of  Esau  sent 
to  Pethor,  which  is  upon  the  river, 
and  they  fetched  from  there  a  yoiuig 
man  of  beautiful  eyes  and  comely 
aspect,  whose  name  was  Saul,  and 
they  made  him  king  over  them  in  the 
place  of  Sam  I  ah. 

3.  And  Saul  reigned  over  all  the 
children  of  Esau  in  the  land  of  Edom 
for  forty  years. 

4.  And  when  Pharaoh  king  of 
Egypt  saw  that  the  counsel  which 
Balaam  had  advised  respecting  the 
cliildren  of  Israel  did  not  succeed, 
but  that  still  they  were  fruitful,  mul- 
tiplied and  increased  throughout  the 
land  of  Egypt, 

5.  Then  Pharaoh  commanded  in 
those  days  that  a  proclamation  should 
be  issued  throughout  Egypt  to  the 
children  of  Israel,  saying,  no  man 
shall  diminish  any  thing  of  his  daily 
labor. 

6.  And  the  man  who  shall  be  found 
deficient  in  his  labor  which  he  per- 
forms daily,  whether  in  mortar  or  in 
bricks,  then  his  youngest  son  shall 
be  put  in  their  place. 

7.  And  the  labor  of  Egypt  strength- 
ened upon  the  children  of  Israel  in 
those  days,  and  behold  if  one  brick 
was  deficient  in  any  man's  daily  la- 
bor, the  Egyptians  took  his  youngest 
boy  by  force  from  his  mother,  and 
put  him  into  the  building  in  the  place 
of  the  brick  which  his  father  had  left 
wanting. 

8.  And  the  men  of  Egypt  did  so 
to  all  the  children  of  Israel  day  by 
dav,  all  the  days  for  a  long  period. 

9.  But  the  tribe  of  Levi  did  not  at 
that  time  work  with  the  Israelites 
their  brethren,  from  the  beginning, 
for  the  children  of  Levi  knew  the 
cunning  of  the  Egyptians  which  they 
exercised  at  first  toward  the  Israel- 
ites. 


216 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


CHAPTER  LXX. 

1.  And  in  the  third  year  from  the 
birth  of  Moses,  Pharaoh  was  sitting 
at  a  banquet,  when  Alparanith  the 
queen  was  sitting  at  his  right  and 
Bathia  at  his  left,  and  the  lad  Moses 
was  lying  upon  her  bosom,  and  Ba- 
laam the  son  of  Beor  with  his  two 
sons,  and  all  the  princes  of  the  king- 
dom were  sitting  at  table  in  the  king's 
presence. 

2.  And  the  lad  stretched  forth  his 
hand  upon  the  king's  head,  and  took 
the  crown  from  the  Ring's  head  and 
placed  it  on  his  own  head. 

3.  And  when  the  king  and  princes 
saw  the  work  which  the  boy  had 
done,  the  king  and  princes  were  ter- 
rified, and  one  man  to  his  neighbor 
expressed  astonishment. 

4.  And  the  king  said  unto  the 
princes  who  were  before  him  at 
table,  what  speak  you  and  what  say 
you,  O  ye  princes,  in  this  matter, 
and  what  is  to  be  judgment  against 
the  boy  on  account  of  this  act  ? 

5.  And  Balaam  the  son  of  Beor 
the  magician  answered  before  the 
king  and  princes,  and  he  said,  re- 
member now,  O  my  lord  and  king, 
the  dream  which  thou  didst  dream 
many  days  since,  and  that  which  thy 
servant  interpreted  unto  thee. 

6.  Now  therefore  this  is  a  child 
from  the  Hebrew  children,  in  whom 
is  the  spirit  of  God,  and  let  not  my 
lord  the  king  imagine  that  this  young- 
ster did  this  thing  without  knowledge. 

7.  For  he  is  a  Hebrew  boy,  and 
wisdom  and  understanding  are  with 
him,  although  he  is  yet  a  child,  and 
with  wisdom  has  he  done  this  and 
chosen  unto  himself  the  kingdom  of 
Egypt. 

8.  For  this  is  the  manner  of  all 
the  Hebrews  to  deceive  kings  and 


their  nobles,  to  do  all  these  things 
cimningiy,  in  order  to  make  the 
kings  of  the  earth  and  their  men 
tremble, 

9.  Surely  thou  knowest  that  Abra- 
ham their  father  acted  thus,  who  de- 
ceived the  army  of  Nimrod  king  of 
Babel,  and  Abimelech  king  of  Gerar, 
and  that  he  possessed  himself  of  the 
land  of  the  children  of  Heth  and  all 
the  kingdoms  of  Canaan, 

10.  And  that  he  descended  into 
Egypt  and  said  of  Sarah  his  wife, 
she  is  my  sister,  in  order  to  mislead 
Egypt  and  her  king, 

1  ] ,  His  son  Isaac  also  did  so  when 
he  went  to  Gerar  and  dwelt  there, 
and  his  strength  prevailed  over  the 
army  of  Abimelech  king  of  the  Phi- 
listines, 

12,  He  also  thought  of  making 
the  kingdom  of  the  Philistines 
stumble,  in  saying  that  Rebecca  his 
wife  was  his  sister, 

13,  Jacob  also  dealt  treacherous- 
ly with  his  brother,  and  took  from 
his  hand  his  birthright  and  his  bless- 
ing. 

14,  He  went  then  to  Padan-aram 
to  the  house  of  Laban  his  mother's 
brother,  and  cunningly  obtained  from 
him  his  daughter,  his  cattle,  and  all 
belonging  to  him,  and  fled  away  and 
returned  to  the  land  of  Canaan  to 
his  father. 

15.  His  sons  sold  their  brother 
Joseph,  who  went  down  into  Egypt 
and  became  a  slave,  and  was  placed 
in  the  prison  house  for  twelve  years. 

16.  Until  the  former  Pharaoh 
dreamed  dreams,  and  withdrew  him 
from  the  prison  house,  and  magnified 
him  above  all  the  princes  in  Egypt 
on  account  of  his  interpreting  his 
dreams  to  him. 

17.  And  when  God  caused  a  fa- 
mine throughout  the  land  he  sent  for 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


217 


and  brought  his  father  and  all  his 
brothers,  and  the  whole  of  his  fa- 
ther's household,  and  supported  them 
wiiiiout  price  or  reward,  and  bought 
the  Egvjitians  for  slaves. 

18.  Now  therefore  my  lord  king 
behold  this  child  has  risen  up  in  their 
stead  in  ]\gypt,  to  do  according  to 
their  deeds  and  to  trifle  with  every 
king,  prince  and  judge. 

19.  If  it  please  the  king,  let  us 
now  spill  his  blood  upon  the  ground, 
lest  he  grow  up  and  take  away  the 
government  from  thy  hand,  and  the 
hope  of  I^gypt  perish  after  he  shall 
have  reigned. 

20.  And  Balaam  said  to  the  king, 
let  us  moreover  call  for  all  the  judges 
of  Egypt  and  the  wise  men  thereof, 
and  let  us  know  if  tiic  judgment  of 
death  is  due  to  this  boy  as  thou  didst 
say,  and  then  we  will  slay  him. 

21.  And  Pharaoh  sent  and  called 
for  all  the  wise  men  of  Egypt  and 
they  came  before  the  king,  and  an 
angel  of  the  Lord  came  amongst 
them,  and  he  was  like  one  of  the  wise 
men  of  Egypt. 

22.  And  tiie  king  said  to  the  wise 
men,  surely  you  have  heaixlwhat  this 
Hebrew  boy  who  is  in  the  house  has 
done,  and  thus  has  Balaam  judged  in 
the  matter. 

23.  Now  judge  you  also  and  see 
what  is  due  to  the  boy  for  the  act 
which  he  has  committed. 

24.  And  the  angel,  who  seemed 
like  one  of  the  wise  men  of  Pharaoh, 
answered  and  said  as  follows,  before 
all  the  wise  men  of  Egypt  and  be- 
fore the  king  and  the  princes. 

25.  If  it  please  the  king  let  the 
king  send  for  vien  who  shall  bring 
before  him  an  onyx  stone  and  a  coal 
of  fire,  and  place  them  before  the 
child,  and  if  the  child  shall  stretch 
forth  his   hand  and  take  the  onyx 


stone,  then  shall  we  know  that  with 
wisdom  has  the  youth  done  all  that 
he  has  done,  and  we  must  slay  him. 
20.  But  if  he  stretch  forth  his 
iiand  upon  the  coal,  then  shall  wo 
know  that  it  was  not  with  knowledge 
that  he  did  this  thing,  and  he  shall 
live. 

27.  And  the  thing  seemed  good 
in  the  eyes  of  the  king  and  the 
princes,  so  the  king  did  according  to 
the  word  of  the  angel  of  the  Lord. 

28.  And  the  king  ordered  the 
onyx  stone  and  coal  to  be  brought 
and  placed  before  Moses. 

29.  And  they  placed  the  boy  be- 
fore them,  and  the  lad  endeavored  to 
stretch  forth  his  hand  to  the  onyx 
stone,  but  the  angel  of  the  Lord  took 
his  hand  and  placed  it  upon  the  coal, 
and  the  coal  ijecamc  extinguished  in 
his  hand,  and  he  lifted  it  up  and  put 
it  into  his  mouth,  and  burned  part 
of  his  lips  and  part  of  his  tongue, 
and  he  became  heavy  in  mouth  and 
tongue. 

30.  And  when  the  king  and  princes 
saw  this,  they  knew  that  Moses  had 
not  acted  with  wisdom  in  taking  off" 
the  crown  from  the  king's  head. 

31.  So  the  king  and  princes  re- 
frained from  slayincr  the  child,  so 
Moses  remained  in  Pharaoh's  house, 
growing  up,  and  the  Lord  was  with 
him. 

32.  And  whilst  the  bov  was  in 
the  king's  house,  he  was  robed  in 
purple  and  he  grew  amongst  the  chil- 
dren of  the  king. 

33.  And  when  Moses  grew  up  in 
the  king's  house,  Bathia  the  daugh- 
ter of  Pharaoh  considered  him  as  a 
son,  and  all  the  household  of  Pha- 
raoh honored  him,  and  all  the  men 
of  Egypt  were  afraid  of  him. 

34.  And  he  daily  went  forth  and 
came  into  the  land  of  Goshen,  where 


218 


THE  BOOK  OF  .lASHER. 


his  brethren  the  children  of  Israel 
were,  and  Moses  saw  them  daily  in 
shortness  of  breath  and  hard  labor. 

35.  And  Moses  asked  them,  say- 
ing, wherefore  is  this  labor  meted 
out  unto  you  day  by  day  ? 

36.  And  they  told  him  all  that  had 
befallen  them,  and  all  the  injunctions 
which  Pharaoh  had  put  upon  them 
before  his  birth, 

37.  And  they  told  him  all  the 
counsels  which  Balaam  the  son  of 
Beor  had  counselled  against  them, 
and  what  he  had  also  counselled 
against  him  in  order  to  slay  him  when 
he  had  taken  the  king's  crown  from 
off  his  head, 

38.  And  when  Moses  heard  these 
things  his  anger  was  kindled  against 
Balaam,  and  he  sought  to  kill  him, 
and  he  was  in  ambush  for  him  day 
by  day, 

39.  And  Balaam  was  afraid  of 
Moses,  and  he  and  his  two  sons  rose 
up  and  went  forth  from  Egypt,  and 
they  fled  and  delivered  their  souls 
and  betook  themselves  to  the  land 
of  Cush  to  Kikianus,  king  of  Cush. 

40.  And  Moses  was  in  the  king's 
house  going  out  and  coming  in,  the 
Lord  gave  him  favor  in  the  eyes  of 
Pharaoh,  and  in  the  eyes  of  all  his 
servants,  and  in  the  eyes  of  all  the 
people  of  Egypt,  and  they  loved 
Moses  exceedingly. 

41.  And  the  day  arrived  when 
Moses  went  to  Goshen  to  see  his 
brethren,  that  he  saw  the  children  of 
Israel  in  their  burdens  and  hard  la- 
bor, and  Moses  was  grieved  on  their 
account. 

42.  And  Moses  returned  to  Egypt 
and  came  to  the  house  of  Pharaoh, 
and  came  before  the  king,  and  Moses 
bowed  down  before  the  king. 

43.  And  Moses  said  unto  Pha- 
raoh, I  pray  thee  my  lord,  I  have 


come  to  seek  a  small  request  from 
thee,  turn  not  away  my  face  empty  ; 
and  Pharaoh  said  unto  him,  speak. 

44.  And  Moses  said  unto  Pharaoh, 
let  there  be  given  unto  thy  servants 
the  children  of  Israel  who  are  in 
Goshen,  one  day  to  rest  therein  from 
their  labor. 

45.  And  the  king  answered  Mo- 
ses and  said,  behold  I  have  lifted  up 
thy  face  in  this  thing  to  grant  thy  re- 
quest. 

46.  And  Pharaoh  ordered  a  pro- 
clamation to  be  issued  throughout 
Egypt  and  Goshen,  saying, 

47.  To  you,  all  the  children  of 
Israel,  thus  says  the  king,  for  six 
days  you  shall  do  your  work  and  la- 
bor but  on  the  seventh  day  you  shall 
rest,  and  shall  not  perform  any  work, 
thus  shall  you  do  all  the  days,  as  the 
king  and  Moses  the  son  of  Bathia 
have  commanded. 

48.  And  Moses  rejoiced  at  this 
thing  which  the  king  had  granted  to 
him,  and  all  the  children  of  Israel 
did  as  Moses  ordered  them. 

49.  For  this  thing  was  from  the 
Lord  to  the  children  of  Israel,  for 
the  Lord  had  begun  to  remember  the 
children  of  Israel  to  save  them  for 
the  sake  of  their  fathers. 

50.  And  the  Lord  was  with  Mo- 
ses and  his  fame  went  throughout 
Egypt. 

5L  And  Moses  became  great  in 
the  eyes  of  all  the  Egyptians,  and  in 
the  eyes  of  all  the  children  of  Israel, 
seeking  good  for  his  people  Israel 
and  speaking  words  of  peace  regard- 
ing them  to  the  king. 

CHAPTER  LXXI. 

1.  And  when  Moses  was  eighteen 
years  old,  he  desired  to  see  his  father 
and  mother  and  he  went  to  them  t,a 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


219 


Goshen,  and  when  Moses  had  come 
near  Goshen,  he  came  to  the  place 
where  the  children  of  Israel  were  en- 
gaged in  work,  and  he  observed  their 
burdens,  and  he  saw  an  Egyptian 
smiting  one  of  his  Hebrew  brethren. 

2.  And  when  the  man  who  was  bea- 
ten saw  Moses  he  ran  to  him  for 
help,  for  the  man  Moses  was  greatly 
respected  in  the  house  of  Pharaoh,  and 
he  said  to  him,  my  lord  attend  to  me, 
this  Egyptian  came  to  my  house  in 
the  night,  bound  me,  and  came  to 
my  wife  in  my  presence,  and  now  he 
seeks  to  take  my  life  away. 

3.  And  when  Moses  heard  this 
wicked  thing,  his  anger  was  kindled 
against  the  Egyptian,  and  he  turned 
this  way  and  the  other,  and  when  he 
saw  there  was  no  man  there  he  smote 
the  Egyptian  and  hid  him  in  the 
sand,  and  delivered  the  Hebrew  from 
the  hand  of  him  that  smote  him. 

4.  And  the  Hebrew  went  to  his 
house,  and  Moses  returned  to  his 
home,  and  went  forth  and  came  back 
to  the  king's  house. 

5.  And  when  the  man  had  return- 
ed home,  he  thought  of  repudiating 
his  wife,  for  it  was  not  right  in  the 
house  of  Jacob,  for  any  man  lo  come 
to  his  wife  after  she  had  been  defiled. 

6.  And  the  woman  went  and  told 
her  brothers,  and  the  woman's  bro- 
thers sought  to  slay  him,  and  he  fled 
to  his  house  and  escaped. 

7.  And  on  the  second  day  Moses 
went  forth  to  his  brethren,  and  saw, 
and  behold  two  men  were  quarreling, 
and  he  said  to  the  wicked  one,  why 
dost  thou  smite  thy  neighbor  ? 

8.  And  he  answered  him  and  said 
to  him,  who  has  set  thee  for  a  prince 
and  judge  over  us  ?  dost  thou  think 
to  slay  mc  as  thou  didst  slay  the 
Egyptian  ?  and  Moses  was  afraid  and 
he  said,  surely  the  thing  is  known ! 


9.  And  Pharaoh  heard  of  this  af- 
fair, and  he  ordered  Moses  to  be 
slain,  so  God  sent  his  angel,  and  he 
appeared  unto  Pharaoh  in  the  like- 
ness of  a  captain  of  the  guard. 

10.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
took  the  sword  from  the  hand  of  the 
captain  of  the  guard,  and  took  his 
head  off  with  it,  for  the  likeness  of 
the  captain  of  the  guard  was  turned 
into  the  likeness  of  Moses. 

1 1 .  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
took  hold  of  the  right  hand  of  Moses, 
and  brought  him  forth  from  Egypt, 
and  placed  him  from  without  the  bor- 
ders of  Egypt,  a  distance  of  forty 
days'  journey. 

12.  And  Aaron  his  brother  alone 
remained  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and 
he  prophecied  to  the  children  of  Is- 
rael, saying, 

13.  Thus  says  the  Lord  God  of 
your  ancestors,  throw*  away,  each 
man,  the  abominations  of  his  eyes, 
and  do  not  defile  yourselves  with  the 
idols  of  Egypt. 

14.  And  the  children  of  Israel  re- 
belled and  would  not  hearken  to  Aa- 
ron at  that  time. 

15.  And  the  Lord  thought  to  de- 
stroy them,  were  it  not  that  the  Lord 
remembered  the  covenant  which  he 
had  made  with  Abraham,  Isaac  and 
Jacob. 

16.  In  those  days  the  hand  of 
Pharaoh  continued  to  be  severe 
against  the  children  of  Israel,  and  he 
crushed  and  oppressed  them  until  the 
time  when  God  sent  forth  his  word 
and  took  notice  of  them. 

CHAPTER  LXXII. 

1.  And  it  was  in  those  days  that 
there  was  a  great  war  between  the 
children  of  Cush  and  the  children  of 
*This  is  demonstrated  in  Ezekiel,  ch.  30,  v,  30. 


220 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


the  east  and  Aram,  and  they  rebelled 
against  the  king  of  Cush  in  whose 
hands  they  were. 

2.  So  Kikianus  king  of  Cush  went 
forth  with  all  the  children  of  Cush, 
a  people  numerous  as  the  sand,  and 
he  went  to  fight  against  Aram  and 
the  children  of  the  east,  to  bring  them 
under  subjection. 

3.  And  when  Kikianus  went  out, 
he  left  Balaam  the  magician,  with  his 
two  sons,  to  guard  the  city,  and  the 
lowest  sort  of  the  people  of  the  land. 

4.  So  Kikianus  went  forth  to  Aram 
and  the  children  of  the  east,  and  he 
fought  against  them  and  smote  them, 
and  they  all  fell  down  wounded  be- 
fore Kikianus  and  his  people. 

5.  And  he  took  many  of  them  cap- 
tives and  he  brought  them  under  sub- 
jection as  at  first,  and  he  encamped 
upon  their  land  to  take  tribute  from 
them  as  usual. 

6.  And  Balaam  the  son  of  Beor, 
when  the  king  of  Cush  had  left  him 
to  guard  the  city  and  the  poor  of  the 
city,  he  rose  up  and  advised  with  the 
people  of  the  land  to  rebel  against 
king  Kikianus,  not  to  let  him  enter 
the  city  when  he  should  come  home. 

7.  And  the  people  of  the  land 
hearkened  to  him,  and  they  swore  to 
him  and  made  him  king  over  them, 
and  his  two  sons  for  captains  of  the 
army. 

8.  So  they  rose  up  and  raised  the 
walls  of  the  city  at  the  two  corners, 
and  they  built  an  exceeding  strong 
building. 

9.  And  at  the  third  corner  they 
dug  ditches  without  number,  between 
the  city  and  the  river  which  surround- 
ed the  whole  land  of  Cush,  and  they 
made  the  waters  of  the  river  burst 
forth  there. 

10.  At  the  fourth  corner  they  col- 
lected   numerous  serpents  by  their 


incantations  and  enchantments,  and 
they  fortified  the  city  and  dwelt  there- 
in, and  no  one  went  out  or  in  before 
them. 

1 1 .  And  Kikianus  fought  against 
Aram  and  the  children  of  the  east 
and  he  subdued  them  as  before, 
and  they  gave  him  their  usual  tribute, 
and  he  went  and  returned  to  his  land, 

12.  And  when  Kikianus  the  king 
of  Cush  approached  his  city  and  all 
the  captains  of  the  forces  with  him, 
they  lifted  up  their  eyes  and  saw  that 
the  walls  of  the  city  were  built  up 
and  greatly  elevated,  so  the  men  were 
astonished  at  this. 

13.  And  they  said  one  to  the  other, 
it  is  becausethey  sawthatwe  were  de- 
layed, in  the  battle,  and  were  greatly 
afraid  of  us,  therefore  have  they 
done  this  thing  and  raised  the  city 
walls  and  fortified  them  so  that  the 
kings  of  Canaan  might  not  come  in 
battle  against  them. 

14.  So  the  king  and  the  troops  ap- 
proached the  city  door  and  they  look- 
ed up  and  behold,  all  the  gates  of  the 
city  were  closed,  and  they  called  out 
to  the  sentinels,  saying,  open  unto 
us,  that  we  may  enter  the  city. 

15.  But  the  sentinels  refused  to 
open  to  them  by  the  order  of  Balaam 
the  magician  their  king,  they  suffer- 
ed them  not  to  enter  their  city. 

16.  So  they  raised  a  battle  with 
them  opposite  the  city  gate,  and  one 
hundred  and  thirty  men  of  the  army 
of  Kikianus  fell  on  that  day. 

17.  And  on  the  next  day  they  con- 
tinued to  fight  and  they  fought  at  the 
side  of  the  river  ;  they  endeavored 
to  pass  but  were  not  able,  so  some 
of  them  sank  in  the  pits  and  died. 

18.  So  the  king  ordered  them  to 
cut  down  trees  to  make  rafts,  upon 
which  they  might  pass  to  them,  and 
they  did  so. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


221 


19.  And  when  they  came  to  the 
place  of  the  ditches,  the  waters  re- 
volved* by  mills,  and  two  hundred 
men  upon  ten  raffs  were  drowned. 

20.  And  on  the  third  day  they  came 
to  fight  at  the  side  where  the  ser- 
pents were,  but  they  could  not  ap- 
proach there,  so  the  serpents  slew  of 
them  one  hundred  and  seventy  men, 
and  they  ceased  fighting  against 
Cush,  and  they  besieged  Cusli  for 
nine  years,  no  person  came  out  or  in. 

21.  At  that  time  that  the  war  and 
the  siecre  were  against  Cush,  Moses 
fled  from  Egypt  from  Pharaoh  who 
sought  to  kill  him  for  having  slain  the 
Egyptian. 

22.  And  Moses  was  eighteen  years 
old  when  he  fled  from  Egypt  from 
the  presence  of  Pharaoh,  and  he  fled 
and  escaped  to  the  camp  of  Kiki- 
anus,  which  at  that  time  was  besieg- 
ing Cush. 

23.  And  Moses  was  nine  years  in 
the  camp  of  Kikianus  king  of  Cush, 
all  the  time  that  they  were  besieging 
Cush,  and  Moses  went  out  and  came 
in  with  them. 

24.  And  the  king  and  princes  and 
all  the  fighting  men  loved  Moses,  for 
he  was  great  and  worthy,  his  stature 
was  like  a  noble'  lion,  his  face  was  like 
the  sun,  and  his  strength  was  like  that 
of  a  lion,  and  he  was  counsellor  to  the 
king. 

25.  And  at  the  end  of  nine  years 
Kikianus  was  seized  with  a  mortal 
disease,  and  his  illness  prevailed  over 
him,  and  he  died  on  the  seventh  day. 

26.  So  his  servants  embalmed  him 
and  carried  him  and  buried  him 
opposite  the  city  gate  to  the  north  of 
the  land  of  Egypt. 

*  These  water  mills  must  have  been  erected 
with  a  design  of  setting  the  water  going  if  the 
enemy  should  attempt  a  passage,  but  cm  in 
scripture  is  only  applied  to  mill  stones  for 
grinding  com. 


27.  And  they  built  over  him  an 
elegant  strong  and  high  building,  and 
they  placed  great  stones  below. 

28.  And  the  king's  scribes  engrav- 
eclupon  those  stones  all  the  might  of 
their  king  Kikianus,  and  all  his  bat- 
tles which  heiiad  fought,  behold  ihcy 
are  written  there  at  this  day. 

29.  Now  after  the  death  of  Kikian- 
us king  of  Cush  it  grieved  his  men  and 
troops  greatly  on  account  of  tiie  war. 

.30.  So  they  said  one  to  the  other, 
give  us  counsel  what  we  are  to  do  at 
this  time,  as  we  have  resided  in  the 
wilderness  nine  years  away  from  our 
homes. 

31.  If  we  say  we  will  fight  against 
the  city  many  of  us  will  fall  wound- 
ed or  killed,  and  if  we  remain  here 
in  the  siege  we  shall  also  die. 

32.  For  now  all  the  kings  of  Aram 
and  of  the  children  of  the  east  will 
hear  that  our  king  is  dead,  and  they 
will  attack  us  suddenly  in  a  hostile 
manner,  and  they  will  fight  against 
us  and  leave  no  remnant  of  us. 

33.  Now  therefore  let  us  go  and 
make  a  king  over  us,  and  let  us  re- 
main in  the  siege  until  the  city  is  de- 
livered up  to  us. 

34.  And  they  wished  to  choose  on 
that  day  a  man  for  king  from  the 
army  of  Kikianus,  and  they  found  no 
object*  of  their  choice  like  Moses  to 
reign  over  them. 

35.  And  they  hastened  and  stripped 
off  each  man  his  garments  and  cast 
them  upon  the  ground,  and  they 
made  a  great  heap  and  placed  Moses 
thereon. 

36.  And  they  rose  up  and  blew 
with  trumpets  and  called  out  before 
him,  and  said,  may  the  king  live, 
may  the  king  live  ! 

*  Tina  besides  a  young  man,  denotes  also  a 
choice  man,  see  1  Samuel,  ch.  8,  v.  16,  and  ch. 
9,  V.  2  ;  Proverbs,  ch.  30,  v.  29. 


222 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


37.  And  all  the  people  and  nobles 
swore  unto  him  to  give  him  for  a 
wife  Adoniah  the  queen,  the  Cushite, 
wife  of  Kikianus,  and  they  made 
Moses  king  over  them  on  that  day. 

38.  And  all  the  people  of  Cush  is- 
sued a  proclamation  on  that  day,  say- 
ing, every  man  must  give  something 
to  Moses  of  what  is  in  his  posses- 


sion. 

39.  And  they  spread  out  a  sheet 
upon  the  heap,  and  every  man  cast 
into  it  something  of  what  he  had, 
one  a  gold  ear  ring  and  the  other  a 
coin. 

40.  Also  of  onyx  stones,  bdellium, 
pearls  and  marble  did  the  children  of 
Cush  cast  unto  Moses  upon  the  heap, 
also  silver  and  gold  in  great  abun- 
dance. 

41.  And  Moses  took  all  the  silver 
and  gold,  all  the  vessels,  and  the 
bdellium  and  onyx  stones,  which  all 
the  children  of  Cush  had  given  to 
him,  and  he  placed  them  amongst  his 
treasures. 

42.  And  Moses  reigned  over  the 
children  of  Cush  on  that  day,  in  the 
place  of  Kikianus  king  of  Cush. 

CHAPTER  LXXIII. 

1.  In  the  fifty  fifth  year  of  the 
reign  of  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt, 
that  is  in  the  hundred  and  fifty  seventh 
year  of  the  Israelites  going  down  into 
Egypt,  reigned  Moses  in  Cush. 

2.  Moses  was  twenty  seven  years 
old  when  he  began  to  reign  over 
Cush,  and  forty  years  did  he  reign. 

3.  And  the  Lord  granted  Moses 
favor  and  grace  in  the  eyes  of  all  the 
children  of  Cush,  and  the  children  of 
Cush  loved  him  exceedingly,  so  Mo- 
ses was  favored  by  the  Lord  and  by 
men. 

4.  And  in  the  seventh  day  of  his 


reign,  all  the  children  of  Cush  as- 
sembled and  came  before  Moses  and 
bowed  down  to  him  to  the  ground, 

5.  And  all  the  children  spoke  to- 
gether in  the  presence  of  the  king, 
saying,  give  us  counsel  that  we  may 
see  what  is  to  be  done  to  this  city. 

6.  For  it  is  now  nine  years  that 
we  have  been  besieging  round  about 
the  city,  and  have  not  seen  our  chil- 
dren and  our  wives. 

7.  So  the  king  answered  them,  say- 
ing, if  you  will  hearken  to  my  voice 
in  all  that  I  shall  command  you,  then 
will  the  Lord  give  the  city  into  our 
hands  and  we  shall  subdue  it. 

8.  For  if  we  fight  with  them  as  in 
the  former  battle  which  we  had  with 
them  before  the  death  of  Kikianus, 
many  of  us  will  fall  down  wounded 
as  before. 

9.  Now  therefore  behold  here  is 
counsel  for  yoii  in  this  matter ;  if  you 
will  hearken  to  my  voice,  then  will 
the  city  be  delivered  into  our  hands. 

10.  So  all  the  forces  answered  the 
king,  saying,  all  that  our  lord  shall 
command  that  will  we  do. 

11.  And  Moses  said  unto  them, 
pass  through  and  proclaim  a  voice  in 
the  whole  camp  unto  all  the  people, 
saying, 

12.  Thus  says  the  king,  go  into 
the  forest  and  bring  with  you  of  the 
young  ones  of  the  stork,  each  man  a 
young  one  in  his  hand. 

13.  And  any  person  transgressing 
the  word  of  the  king,  who  shall  not 
bring  his  young  one,  he  shall  die,  and 
the  king  will  take  all  belonging  to 
him. 

14.  And  when  you  shall  bring 
them  they  shall  be  in  your  keeping, 
you  shall  rear  them  until  they  grow 
up,  and  you  shall  teach  them  to  dart 
upon,  as  is  the  way  of  the  young 
ones  of  the  hawk. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


223 


15.  So  all  the  children  of  Cush 
heard  the  words  of  Moses,  and  they 
rose  up  and  caused  a  proclamation 
to  be  issued  throughout  the  camp, 
saying, 

16.  Unto  you,  all  the  children  of 
Cush,  the  king's  order  is,  that  you  go 
all  together  to  the  forest,  and  catch 
there  the  young  storks  each  man  his 
young  one  in  his  hand,  and  you  shall 
bring  them  home. 

17.  And  any  person  violating  the 
order  of  the  king  shall  die,  and  the 
king  will  take  all  that  belongs  to 
him. 

18.  And  all  the  people  did  so,  and 
they  went  out  to  the  wood  and  they 
climbed  the  fir  trees  and  caught,  each 
man  a  young  one  in  his  hand,  all  the 
young  of  the  storks,  and  they  brought 
them  into  the  desert  and  reared  them 
by  order  of  the  king,  and  they  taught 
them  to  dart  upon,  similar  to  the 
young  hawks. 

19.  And  after  the  young  storks 
were  reared,  the  king  ordered  them 
to  be  hungered  for  three  days,  and 
all  the  people  did  so. 

20.  And  on  the  third  day,  the  king 
said  unto  them,  strengthen  yourselves 
and  become  valiant  men,  and  put  on 
each  man  his  armour  and  gird  on  his 
sword  upon  him,  and  ride  each  man 
his  horse  and  take  each  his  young 
stork  in  his  hand. 

21.  And  we  will  rise  up  and  fight 
against  the  city  at  the  place  where 
the  serpents  are  ;  and  all  the  people 
did  as  the  king  had  ordered. 

22.  And  they  took  each  man  his 
young  one  in  his  hand,  and  they 
went  away,  and  when  they  came  to 
the  place  of  the  serpents  the  king 
said  to  them,  send  forth  each  man 
his  young  stork  upon  the  serpents. 

23.  And  they  sent  forth  each  man 
his  young  stork  at  the  king's  order, 


and  the  young  storks  ran  upon  the 
serpents  and  they  devoured  them  all 
and  destroyed  them  out  of  that  place. 

24.  And  when  the  king  and  people 
had  seen  that  all  the  serpents  were 
destroyed  in  that  place,  all  the  people 
set  up  a  great  shout. 

25.  And  they  approached  and 
fought  against  the  city  and  look  it 
and  subdued  it,  and  they  entered  the 
city. 

26.  And  there  died  on  that  day 
one  thousand  and  one  hundred  men 
of  the  people  of  the  city,  all  that  in- 
habited the  city,  but  of  the  people 
besieging  not  one  died. 

27.  So  all  the  children  of  Cush 
went  each  to  his  home,  to  his  wife 
and  children  and  to  all  belonging  to 
him. 

28.  And  Balaam  the  magician, 
when  he  saw  that  the  city  was  taken, 
he  opened  the  gate  and  he  and  his 
two  sons  and  eight  brothers  fled  and 
returned  to  Egypt  to  Pharaoh  king 
of  Egypt. 

29.  They  are  the  sorcerers  and 
magicians  who  are  mentioned  in  the 
book  of  the  law,  standing  against 
Moses  when  the  Lord  brought  the 
plagues  upon  Egypt. 

30.  So  Moses  took  the  city  by  his 
wisdom,  and  the  children  of  Cush 
placed  him  on  the  throne  instead  of 
Kikianus  king  of  Cush. 

31.  And  they  placed  the  royal 
crown  upon  his  head,  and  they  gave 
him  for  a  wife  Adoniah  the  Cushite 
queen,  wife  of  Kikianus. 

32.  And  Moses  feared  the  Lord 
God  of  his  fathers,  so  that  he  came 
not  to  her,  nor  did  he  turn  his  eyes 
to  her. 

33.  For  Moses  remembered  how 
Abraham  had  made  his  servant 
Eliezer  swear,  saying  wn^o  him,  thou 
shalt  not  take  a  woman  from  the 


224 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


daughters   of  Canaan  for    my   son 
Isaac. 

34.  Also  what  Isaac  did  when 
Jacob  had  fled  from  his  brother, 
when  he  commanded  him,  saying, 
thou  shalt  not  take  a  wife  from  the 
daughters  of  Canaan,  nor  make  alli- 
ance with  any  of  the  children  of  Ham. 

35.  For  the  Lord  our  God  gave 
Ham  the  son  of  Noah,  and  his  child- 
ren and  all  his  seed,  as  slaves  to  the 
children  of  Shem  and  to  the  children 
of  Japheth,  and  unto  their  seed  after 
them  for  slaves,  forever. 

36.  Therefore  Moses  turned  not 
his  heart  nor  his  eyes  to  the  wife  of 
Kikianus  all  the  days  that  he  reigned 
over  Cush. 

37.  And  Moses  feared  the  Lord  his 
God  all  his  life,  and  Moses  walked 
before  the  Lord  in  truth,  with  all  his 
heart  and  soul,  he  turned  not  from 
the  right  way  all  the  days  of  his  life  ; 
he  declined  not  from  the  way  either 
to  the  right  or  to  the  left,  in  which 
Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  had 
walked. 

38.  And  Moses  strengthened  him- 
self in  the  kingdom  of  the  children 
of  Cush,  and  he  guided  the  children 
of  Cush  with  his  usual  wisdom,  and 
Moses  prospered  in  his  kingdom. 

39.  And  at  that  time  Aram  and  the 
children  of  the  east  heard  that  Kiki- 
anus king  of  Cush  had  died,  so  Aram 
and  the  children  of  the  east  rebelled 
against  Cush  in  those  days. 

40.  And  Moses  gathered  all  the 
children  of  Cush,  a  people  very 
mighty,  about  thirty  thousand  men, 
and  he  went  forth  to  fight  with  Aram 
and  the  children  of  the  east. 

4L  And  they  went  at  first  to  the 
children  of  the  east,  and  when  the 
children  of  the  east  heard  their  report, 
they  went  to  meet  them,  and  engaged 
in  battle  with  them. 


42.  And  the  war  was  severe 
against  the  children  of  the  east,  so 
the  Lord  gave  all  the  children  of  the 
east  into  the  hand  of  Moses,  and 
about  three  hundred  men  fell  down 
slain. 

43.  And  all  the  children  of  the 
east  turned  back  and  retreated,  so 
Moses  and  the  children  of  Cush 
followed  them  and  subdued  them  and 
put  a  tax  upon  them,  as  was  their 
custom. 

44.  So  Moses  and  all  the  people 
with  him  passed  from  there  to  the 
land  of  Aram  for  battle. 

45.  And  the  people  of  Aram  also 
went  to  meet  them,  and  they  fought 
against  them,  and  the  Lord  delivered 
them  into  the  hand  of  Moses,  and 
many  of  the  men  of  Aram  fell  down 
wounded. 

46.  And  Aram  also  were  subdued 
by  Moses  and  the  people  of  Cush, 
and  also  gave  their  usual  tax. 

47.  And  Moses  brought  Aram  and 
the  children  of  the  east  under  sub- 
jection to  the  children  of  Cush,  and 
Moses  and  all  the  people  who  were 
with  him,  turned  to  the  land  of  Cush. 

48.  And  Moses  strengthened  him- 
self in  the  kingdom  of  the  children 
of  Cush,  and  the  Lord  was  with  him, 
and  all  the  children  of  Cush  were 
afraid  of  him. 

CHAPTER  LXXIV. 

1 .  In  the  end  of  years  died  Saul 
king  of  Edom,  and  Baal  Chanan  the 
son  of  Achbor  reigned  in  his  place. 

2.  In  the  sixteenth  year  of  the 
reign  of  Moses  over  Cush,  Baal 
Chanan  the  son  of  Achbor  reigned 
in  the  land  of  Edom  over  all  the 
children  of  Edom  for  thirty  eight 
years. 

3.  In    his    days    Moab    rebelled 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


225 


against  the  power  of  Edom,  having 
been  under  Edom  since  the  days  of 
Hadad  the  son  of  Bedad,  who  smole 
them  and  Midian,  and  brought  Moab 
under  subjcclion  to  Edom. 

4.  And  when  Baal  Chanan  the  son 
of  Achbor  reigned  over  Edom,  all 
the  children  of  Moab  withdrew^  their 
allegiance  from  Edom. 

5.  And  Angeas  king  of  Africa  died 
in  those  days,  and  Azdrubal  his  son 
reigned  in  his  stead. 

6.  And  in  those  days  died  Janeas 
king  of  the  children  of  Chittim,  and 
tliey  buried  him  in  his  temple  which 
he  "had  built  for  himself  in  the  plain 
of  Canopia  for  a  residence,  and  Lati- 
niis  reigned  in  his  stead. 

7.  In  the  twenty-second  year  of 
the  reign  of  Moses  over  the  children 
of  Cush,  Latinus  reigned  over  the 
children  of  Chittim  forty-five  years. 

8.  And  he  also  built  for  himself  a 
great  and  mighty  tower,  and  he  built 
therein  an  elegant  temple  for  his  re- 
sidence, to  conduct  his  government, 
as  was  the  custom. 

9.  In  the  third  year  of  his  reign 
he  caused  a  proclamation  to  be  made 
to  all  his  skilful  men,  who  made  many 
ships  for  him. 

10.  And  Latinus  assembled  all  his 
forces,  and  they  came  in  ships,  and 
went  therein  to  fight  with  Azdrubal 
son  of  Angeas  king  of  Africa,  and 
they  came  to  Africa  and  engaged  in 
battle  with  Azdrubal  and  his  army. 

11.  And  Latinus  prevailed  over 
Azdrubal,  and  Latinus  took  from  Az- 
drubal the  aqueduct  which  his  fa- 
ther had  brought  from  the  children 
of  Chittim,  when  he  took  Janiah  the 
daughter  of  Uzi  for  a  wife,  so  Latinus 
overthrew  the  bridge  of  the  aqueduct, 
and  smote  the  whole  army  of  Azdru- 
bal a  severe  blow. 

12.  And  the  remaining  strong  men 

15 


of  Azdrubal  strengthened  themselves, 
and  their  hearts  were  filled  with  envy, 
and  they  courted  death,  and  again 
engaged  in  battle  with  Latinus  king 
of  Chittim. 

13.  And  the  battle  was  severe  up- 
on all  the  men  of  Africa,  and  they 
all  fell  wounded  before  Latinus  and 
his  people,  and  Azdrubal  the  king 
also  fell  in  that  battle. 

14.  And  the  king  Azdrubal  had  a 
very  beautiful  daughter,  whose  name 
was  Ushpczena,  and  all  the  men  of 
Africa  embroidered  her  likeness  on 
their  garments,  on  account  of  her 
great  beauty  and  comely  appearance. 

15.  And  the  men  of  Latinus  saw 
Ushpezena,  the  daughter  of  Azdru- 
bal, and  praised  her  unto  Latinus 
their  king. 

16.  And  Latinus  ordered  her  to 
be  brought  to  him,  and  Latinus  took 
Ushpezena  for  a  wife,  and  he  turned 
back  on  his  way  to  Chittim. 

1 7.  And  it  was  after  the  death  of 
Azdrubal  son  of  Angeas,  when  Lati- 
nus had  turned  back  to  his  land  from 
the  battle,  that  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Africa  rose  up  and  took  Anibal  the 
son  of  Angeas,  the  younger  brother 
of  Azdrubal,  and  made  him  king  in- 
stead of  his  brother  over  the  whole 
land  of  Africa. 

18.  And  when  he  reigned,  he  re- 
solved to  go  to  Chittim  to  fight  with 
the  children  of  Chittim,  to  avenge  the 
cause  of  Azdrubal  his  brother,  and 
the  cause  of  the  inhabitants  of  Africa, 
and  he  did  so. 

19.  And  he  made  many  ships,  and 
he  came  therein  with  his  whole  army, 
and  he  went  to  Chittim. 

20.  So  Anibal  fought  with  the 
children  of  Chittim,  and  the  children 
of  Chittim  fell  wounded  before  Ani- 
bal and  his  army,  and  Anibal  avenged 
his  brother's  cause. 


226 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHEK. 


21.  And  Anibal  continued  the  war 
for  eighteen  years  with  the  children 
of  Chittim,  and  Anibal  dwelt  in  the 
land  of  Chittim  and  encamped  there 
for  a  long  time. 

22.  And  Anibal  smote  the  children 
of  Chittim  very  severely,  and  he  slew 
their  great  men  and  princes,  and  of 
the  rest  of  the  people  he  smote  about 
eighty  thousand  men. 

23.  And  at  the  end  of  days  and 
years,  Anibal  returned  to  his  land  of 
Africa,  and  he  reigned  securely  in 
the  place  of  Azdrubal  his  brother. 

CHAPTER  LXXV. 

1.  At  that  time,  in  the  hundred 
and  eightieth  year  of  the  Israelites 
going  down  into  Egypt,  there  went 
forth  from  Egypt  valiant  men,  thirty 
thousand  on  foot,  from  the  children 
of  Israel,  who  were  all  of  the  tribe 
of  Joseph,  of  the  children  of  Ephraim 
the  son  of  Joseph. 

2.  For  they  said  the  period  was 
completed  which  the  Lord  had  ap- 
pointed to  the  children  of  Israel  in 
the  times  of  old,  which  he  had  spo- 
ken to  Abraham. 

3.  And  these  men  girded  them- 
selves, and  they  put  each  man  his 
sword  at  his  side,  and  every  man  his 
armour  upon  him,  and  they  trusted 
to  their  strength,  and  they  went  out 
together  from  Egypt  with  a  mighty 
hand. 

4.  But  they  brought  no  provision 
for  the  road,  only  silver  and  gold,  not 
even  bread  for  that  day  did  they  bring 
in  their  hands,  for  they  thought  of 
getting  their  provision  for  pay  from 
the  Philistines,  and  if  not  they  would 
take  it  by  force. 

5.  And  these  men  were  very 
mighty  and  valiant  men,  one  man 
could   pursue   a   thousand  and  two 


could  rout  ten  thousand,  so  they 
trusted  to  their  strength  and  went  to- 
gether as  they  were. 

6.  And  they  directed  their  course 
toward  the  land  of  Gath,  and  they 
went  down  and  found  the  shepherds 
of  Gath  feeding  the  cattle  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Gath. 

7.  And  they  said  to  the  shepherds, 
give  us  some  of  the  sheep  for  pay, 
that  we  may  eat,  for  we  are  hungry, 
for  we  have  eaten  no  bread  this  day. 

8.  And  the  shepherds  said,  are 
they  our  sheep  or  cattle  that  we 
should  give  them  to  you  even  for 
pay  ?  so  the  children  of  Ephraim  ap- 
proached to  take  them  by  force. 

9.  And  the  shepherds  of  Gath  shout- 
ed over  them  that  their  cry  was  heard 
at  a  distance,  so  all  the  children  of 
Gath  went  out  to  them. 

10.  And  when  the  children  of  Gath 
saw  the  evil  doings  of  the  children 
of  Ephraim,  they  returned  and  as- 
sembled the  men  of  Gath,  and  they 
put  on  each  man  his  armour,  and 
came  forth  to  the  children  of  Ephraim 
for  battle. 

1 1 .  And  they  engaged  with  them 
in  the  valley  of  Gath,  and  the 
battle  was  severe,  and  they  smote 
from  each  other  a  great  many  on  that 
day. 

12.  And  on  the  second  day  the 
children  of  Gath  sent  to  all  the  cities 
of  the  Philistines  that  they  should 
come  to  their  help,  saying, 

13.  Come  up  unto  us  and  help  us, 
that  we  may  smite  the  children  of 
Ephraim  who  have  come  forth  from 
Egypt  to  take  our  cattle,  and  to  fight 
against  us  without  cause. 

14.  Now  the  souls  of  the  children 
of  Ephraim  were  exhausted  with 
hunger  and  thirst,  for  they  had  eaten 
no  bread  for  three  days.  And  forty 
thousand  men  went  forth  from  the 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


227 


cities  of  the  Philistines  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  men  of  Gath. 

15.  And  these  men  were  engaged 
in  battle  with  the  children  of  Ephraim, 
and  the  Lord  delivered  the  children 
of  Ephraim  into  the  hands  of  the 
Philistines. 

16.  And  they  smote  all  the  child- 
ren of  Ephraim,  all  who  had  gone 
forth  from  Egypt,  none  were  re- 
maining but  ten  men  who  had  run 
away  from  the  engagement. 

17.  For  this  evil  was  from  the 
Lord  against  the  children  of  Ephraim, 
for  they  transgressed  the  word  of  the 
Lord  in  going  forth  from  Egypt,  be- 
fore the  period  had  arrived  which 
the  Lord  in  the  days  of  old  had  ap- 
pointed to  Israel. 

18.  And  of  the  Philistines  also 
there  fell  a  great  many,  about  twen- 
ty thousand  men,  and  their  brethren 
carried  them  and  buried  them  in 
their  cities. 

19.  And  the  slain  of  the  children 
of  Ephraim  remained  forsaken  in  the 
valley  of  Gath  for  many  days  and 
yearsj  and  were  not  brought  to  burial, 
and  the  valley  was  filled  with  men's 
bones. 

20.  And  the  men  who  had  escaped 
from  the  battle  came  to  Egypt,  and 
told  all  the  children  of  Israel  all  that 
had  befallen  them. 

21.  And  their  father  Ephraim 
mourned  over  them  for  many  days, 
and  his  brethren  came  to  console 
him. 

22.  And  he  came  unto  his  wife 
and  she  bare  a  son,  and  he  called  his 
name  Beriah,  for  she  was  unfortunate 
in  his  house. 

CHAPTER  LXXVI. 

1 .  And  Moses  the  son  of  Amram 
was  still  king  in  the  land  of  Cush  in 


those  days,  and  he  prospered  in  his 
kingdom,  and  he  conducted  the 
government  of  the  children  of  Cush 
in  justice,  in  righteousness  and  in- 
tegrity. 

2.  And  all  the  children  of  Cush 
loved  Moses  all  the  days  that  he 
reigned  over  them,  and  all  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  land  of  Cush  were 
greatly  afraid  of  him. 

3.  And  in  the  fortieth  year  of  the 
reign  of  Moses  over  Cush,  Moses 
was  sitting  on  the  royal  throne  whilst 
Adoniah  the  queen  was  before  him, 
and  all  the  nobles  were  sitting  around 
him. 

4.  And  Adoniah  the  queen  said 
before  the  king  and  the  princes,  what 
is  this  thing  which  you,  the  children 
of  Cush,  have  done  for  this  long 
time  ? 

5.  Surely  you  know  that  for  forty 
years  that  this  man  has  reigned  over 
Cush  he  has  not  approached  me, 
nor  has  he  served  the  gods  of  the 
children  of  Cush. 

6.  Now  therefore  hear,  0  ye  child- 
ren of  Cush,  and  let  this  man  no 
more  reign  over  you  as  he  is  not  of 
our  flesh. 

7.  Behold  Menacrus  my  son  is 
grown  up,  let  him  reign  over  you, 
for  it  is  better  for  you  to  serve  the 
son  of  your  lord,  than  to  serve  a 
stranger,  a  slave  of  the  king  of  Egypt. 

8.  And  all  the  people  and  nobles 
of  the  children  of  Cush  heard  the 
words  which  Adoniah  the  queen  had 
spoken  in  their  ears. 

9.  And  all  the  people  were  pre- 
paring until  the  evening,  and  in  the 
morning  they  rose  up  early  and  made 
Menacrus  son  of  Kikianus  king  over 
them. 

10.  And  all  the  children  of  Cush 
were  afraid  to  stretch  forth  their 
hand   against  Moses,   for  the  Lord 


228 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


was  with  Moses,  and  the  children  of 
Cush  remembered  the  oath  which 
they  swore  unto  Moses,  therefore 
they  did  no  harm  to  him. 

11.  But  the  children  of  Cush  gave 
many  presents  to  Moses,  and  sent 
him  from  them  with  great  honor. 

12.  So  Moses  went  forth  from  the 
land  of  Cush,  and  went  home  and 
ceased  to  reign  over  Cush,  and  Mo- 
ses was  sixty  six  years  old  when  he 
went  out  of  the  land  of  Cush,  for 
the  thing  was  from  the  Lord,  for  the 
period  had  arrived  which  he  had  ap- 
pointed in  the  days  of  old,  to  bring 
forth  Israel  from  the  affliction  of  the 
children  of  Ham. 

13.  So  Moses  went  to  Midian,  for 
he  was  afraid  to  return  to  Egypt  on 
account  of  Pharaoh,  and  he  went  and 
sat  at  a  well  of  water  in  Midian. 

14.  And  the  seven  daughters  of 
Reuel  the  Midianite  went  out  to  feed 
their  father's  flock. 

15.  And  they  came  to  the  well  and 
drew  water  to  water  their  father's 
flock. 

16.  So  the  shepherds  of  Midian 
came  and  drove  them  away,  and 
Moses  rose  up  and  helped  them  and 
watered  the  flock. 

1 7.  And  they  came  home  to  their 
father  Reuel,  and  told  him  what  Mo- 
ses did  for  them. 

18.  And  they  said,  an  Egyptian 
man  has  delivered  us  from  the  hands 
of  the  shepherds,  he  drew  up  water 
for  us  and  watered  the  flock. 

19.  And  Reuel  said  to  his  daugh- 
ters, and  where  is  he  ?  wherefore 
have  you  left  the  man  ? 

20.  And  Reuel  sent  for  him  and 
fetched  him  and  brought  him  home, 
and  he  ate  bread  with  him. 

21.  And  Moses  related  to  Reuel 
that  he  had  fled  from  Egypt  and  that 
he  reigned   forty  years  over  Cush, 


and  that  they  afterward  had  taken 
the  government  from  him,  and  had 
sent  him  away  in  peace  with  honor 
and  with  presents, 

22.  And  when  Reuel  had  heard 
the  words  of  Moses,  Reuel  said 
within  himself,  I  will  put  this  man 
into  the  prison  house,  whereby  I 
shall  conciliate  the  children  of  Cush, 
for  he  has  fled  from  them. 

23.  And  they  took  and  put  him 
into  the  prison  house,  and  Moses 
was  in  prison  ten  years,  and  whilst 
Moses  was  in  the  prison  house,  Zip- 
porah  the  daughter  of  Reuel  took 
pity  over  him,  and  supported  him 
with  bread  and  water  all  the  time. 

24.  And  all  the  children  of  Israel 
were  yet  in  the  land  of  Egypt  serv- 
ing the  Egyptians  in  all  manner  of 
hard  work,  and  the  hand  of  Egypt 
continued  in  severity  over  the  child- 
ren of  Israel  in  those  days. 

25.  At  that  time  the  Lord  smote 
Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt,  and  he  af- 
flicted him  with  the  plague  of  lepro- 
sy from  the  sole  of  his  foot  to  the 
crown  of  his  head ;  owing  to  the 
cruel  treatment  of  the  children  of 
Israel  was  this  plague  at  that  time 
from  the  Lord  upon  Pharaoh  king  of 

Egypt. 

26.  For  the  Lord  had  hearkened 
to  the  prayer  of  his  people  the  child- 
ren of  Israel,  and  their  cry  reach- 
ed them  on  account  of  their  hard 
work. 

27.  Still  his  anger  did  not  turn 
from  them,  and  the  hand  of  Pharaoh 
was  still  stretched  out  against  the 
children  of  Israel,  and  Pharaoh  har- 
dened his  neck  before  the  Lord,  and 
he  increased  his  yoke  over  the  child- 
ren of  Israel,  and  embittered  their 
lives  with  all  manner  of  hard  work. 

28.  And  when  the  Lord  had  in- 
flicted the  plague  upon  Pharaoh  king 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


229 


of  Egypt,  he    asked  his  wise  men 
and  sorcerers  to  cure  him. 

29.  And  his  wise  men  and  sor- 
cerers said  unto  him,  that  if  the 
blood  of  Hltle  children  were  put  into 
the  wounds  he  would  be  healed. 

30.  And  Pharaoh  hearkened  to 
them,  and  sent  his  ministers  to  Go- 
shen to  the  children  of  Israel  to  take 
tlieir  little  children. 

31.  And  Pharaoh's  ministers  went 
and  took  the  infants  of  the  children 
of  Israel  from  the  bosoms  of  their 
mothers  by  force,  and  they  brought 
them  to  Pharaoh  daily,  a  child  each 
day,  and  the  physicians  killed  them 
and  applied  them*  to  the  plague ;  thus 
did  they  all  the  days. 

32.  And  the  number  of  the  child- 
ren which  Pharaoh  slew  was  three 
hundred  and  seventy  five. 

33.  But  the  Lord  hearkened  not 
to  the  physicians  of  the  king  of 
Egypt,  and  the  plague  went  on  in- 
creasing mightily. 

34.  And  Pharaoh  was  ten  years 
afflicted  with  that  plague,  still  the 
heart  of  Pharaoh  was  more  hardened 
against  the  children  of  Israel. 

35.  And  at  the  end  of  ten  years 
the  Lord  continued  to  afflict  Pharaoh 
with  destructive  plagues. 

36.  And  the  Lord  smote  him  with 
a  bad  tumor  and  sickness  at  the 
stomach,  and  that  plague  turned  to 
a  severe  boil. 

37.  At  that  time  the  two  minis- 
ters of  Pharaoh  came  from  the  land 
of  Goshen  where  all  the  children  of 
Israel  were,  and  went  to  the  house 
of  Pharaoh  and  said  to  him,  we  have 
seen  the  children  of  Israel  slacken 
in  their  work  and  negligent  in  their 
labor. 

38.  And  when  Pharaoh  heard  the 
words  of  his  ministers,  his  anger  was 

*  J.  e.  Their  blood. 


kindled  against  the  children  of  Israel 
exceedingly,  for  he  was  greatly 
grieved  at  his  bodily  pain. 

39.  And  he  answered  and  said, 
now  that  tiie  children  of  Israel  know 
that  I  am  ill,  they  turn  and  scoff  at 
us,  now  therefore  harness  my  chariot 
for  me,  aad  I  will  betake  myself  to 
Goshen  and  will  see  the  scoti'  of  the 
children  of  Israel  with  which  they 
are  deriding  me  ;  so  his  servants  har- 
nessed the  chariot  for  him. 

40.  And  they  took  and  made  him 
ride  upon  a  horse,  for  he  was  not 
able  to  ride  of  Jnmself. 

41.  And  he  took  with  him  ten 
horsemen  and  ten  footmen,  and  went 
to  the  children  of  Israel  to  Goshen. 

42.  And  when  they  had  come  to 
the  border  of  Egypt,  the  king's  horse 
passed  into  a  narrow  place,  elevated 
in  the  hollow  part  of  the  vineyard, 
fenced  on  both  sides,  the  low,  plain 
country  being  on  the  other  side. 

43.  And  the  horses  ran  rapidly  in 
that  place  and  pressed  each  other, 
and  the  other  horses  pressed  the 
king's  horse. 

44.  And  the  king's  horse  fell  into 
the  low  plain  whilst  the  king  was 
riding  upon  it,  and  when  he  fell  the 
chariot  turned  over  the  king's  face 
and  the  horse  lay  upon  the  king,  and 
the  king  cried  out,  for  his  flesh  was 
very  sore. 

45.  And  the  flesh  of  the  king  was 
torn  from  him,  and  his  bones  were 
broken  and  he  could  not  ride,  for  this 
thing  was  from  the  Lord  to  him,  for 
the  Lord  had  heard  the  cries  of  his 
people  the  children  of  Israel  and 
their  affliction. 

46.  And  his  servants  carried  him 
upon  their  shoulders,  a  little  at  a 
time,  and  they  brought  him  back  to 
Egypt,  and  the  horsemen  who  were 
with  him  came  also  back  to  Egypt. 


230 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


47.  And  they  placed  him  in  his 
bed,  and  the  king  knew  that  his  end 
was  come  to  die,  so  Aparanith  the 
queen  his  wife  came  and  cried  before 
the  king,  and  the  king  wept  a  great 
weeping  with  her. 

48.  And  all  his  nobles  and  ser- 
vants came  on  that  day  and  saw  the 
king  in  that  affliction,  and  wept  a 
great  weeping  with  him. 

49.  And  tiie  princes  of  the  king 
and  all  his  counsellors  advised  the 
king  to  cause  one  to  reign  in*  his 
stead  in  the  land,  whomsoever  he 
should  choose  from  his  sons. 

50.  And  the  king  had  three  sons 
and  two  daughters  which  Aparanith 
the  queen  his  wife  had  borne  to  him, 
besides  the  king's  children  of  concu- 
bines. 

51.  And  these  were  their  names, 
the  first  born  Othri,  the  second  Adi- 
kam  and  the  third  Morion,  and  their 
sisters,  the  name  of  the  elder  Bathia 
and  of  the  other  Acuzi. 

52.  And  Othri  the  first  born  of  the 
king  was  an  idiot,  precipitate  and 
hurried  in  his  words. 

53.  But  Adikam  was  a  cunning 
and  a  wise  man  and  knowing  in  all 
the  wisdom  of  Egypt,  but  of  un- 
seemly aspect,  thick  in  flesh,  and 
very  short  in  stature  ;  his  height  was 
one  cubit. 

54.  And  when  the  king  saw  Adi- 
kam his  son  intelligent  and  wise  in 
all  things,  the  king  resolved  that  he 
should  be  king  in  his  stead  after  his 
death. 

55.  And  he  took  for  him  a  wife 
Gedudah  daughter  of  Abilot,  and  he 
was  ten  years  old,  and  she  bare  unto 
him  four  sons. 

56.  And  he  afterward  went  and 
took  three  wives  and  begat  eight  sons 
and  three  daughters. 

57.  And  the  disorder  greatly  pre- 


vailed over  the  king,  and  his  flesh 
stank  like  the  flesh  of  a  carcase  cast 
upon  the  field  in  summer  time,  during 
the  heat  of  the  sun. 

58.  And  when  the  king  saw  that 
his  sickness  had  greatly  strengthened 
itself  over  him,  he  ordered  his  son 
Adikam  to  be  brought  to  him,  and 
they  made  him  king  over  the  land  in 
his  place. 

59.  And  at  the  end  of  three  years, 
the  king  died,  in  shame,  disgrace  and 
disgust,  and  his  servants  carried  him 
and  buried  him  in  the  sepulchre  of 
the  kings  of  Egypt  in  Zoan  Miz- 
raim. 

60.  But  they  embalmed  him  not 
as  was  usual  with  kings,  for  his  flesh 
was  putrid,  and  they  could  not  ap- 
proach to  embalm  him  on  account  of 
the  stench,  so  they  buried  him  in 
haste. 

61.  For  this  evil  was  from  the 
Lord  to  him,  for  the  Lord  had  re- 
quited him  evil  for  the  evil  which  in 
his  days  he  had  done  to  Israel. 

62.  And  he  died  with  terror  and 
with  shame,  and  his  son  Adikam 
reigned  in  his  place. 

CHAPTER  LXXVn. 

1.  Adikam  was  twenty  years  old 
when  he  reigned  over  Egypt,  he 
reigned  four  years. 

2.  Li  the  two  hundred  and  sixth 
year  of  Israel's  going  down  to  Egypt 
did  Adikam  reign  over  Egypt,  but  he 
continued  not  so  long  in  his  reign 
over  Egypt  as  his  fathers  had  con- 
tinued in  their  reigns. 

3.  For  Melol  his  father  reigned 
ninety  four  years  in  Egypt,  but  he 
was  ten  years  sick  and  died,  for  he 
had  been  wicked  before  the  Lord. 

4.  And  all  the  Egyptians  called 
the  name  of  Adikam  Pharaoh  like 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


231 


the  name  of  his  fathers,  as  was  their 
custom  to  do  in  Egypt. 

5.  And  all  the  wise  men  of  Pha- 
raoh called  the  name  of  Adikam 
Ahuz,  for  i«hort  is  called  Ahuz  in  the 
Egyptian  language. 

6.  And  Adikam  was  exceedingly 
ugly,  and  he  was  a  cubit  and  a  span 
and  he  had  a  great  beard  which 
reached  to  the  soles  of  his  feet. 

7.  And  Pharaoh  sal  upon  liis  fa- 
ther's throne  to  reign  over  Egypt, 
and  he  conducted  the  government  of 
Egypt  in  his  wisdom. 

8.  And  whilst  he  reigned  he  ex- 
ceeded his  father  and  all  the  preced- 
ing kings  in  wickedness,  and  he  in- 
creased his  yoke  over  the  children 
of  Israel. 

9.  And  he  went  witli  his  servants 
to  Goshen  to  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  he  strengthened  the  labor  over 
them  and  he  said  unto  them,  complete 
your  work,  each  day's  task,  and  let 
not  your  hands  slacken  from  our 
work  from  this  day  forward  as  vou 
did  in  the  days  of  my  father. 

10.  And  he  placed  officers  over 
them  from  amongst  the  children  of 
Israel,  and  over  these  officers  he 
placed  taskmasters  from  amongst  his 
servants. 

1 1 .  And  he  placed  over  them  a 
measure  of  bricks  for  them  to  do  ac- 
cording to  that  number,  day  by  da}^, 
and  he  turned  back  and  went  to 
Egypt. 

12.  At  that  time  the  taskmasters  of 
Pharaoh  ordered  the  officers  of  the 
children  of  Israel  according  to  the 
command  of  Pharaoh,  saying, 

13.  Thus  says  Pharaoh,  do  your 
work  each  day,  and  finish  your  task, 
and  observe  the  daily  measure  of 
bricks  ;  diminish  not  any  thing. 

14.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  that 
if  you  are  deficient  in   your  daily 


bricks,  I  will  put  your  young  child- 
ren in  their  stead. 

15.  And  the  task  masters  of 
Egypt  did  so  in  those  days  as  Pha- 
raoh had  ordered  them. 

16.  And  whenever  any  deficiency 
was  found  in  the  children  of  Israel's 
measure  of  their  daily  bricks,  the 
task  masters  of  Pharaoh  would  go 
to  the  wives  of  the  children  of  Israel 
and  take  infants  of  the  children  of 
Israel  to  the  number  of  bricks  de- 
ficient, they  would  take  them  by 
force  from  their  mother's  laps,  and 
put  them  in  the  building  instead  of 
the  bricks  ; 

17.  Whilst  their  fathers  and  mo- 
thers were  crying  over  them  and 
weeping  when  they  heard  the  weep- 
ing voices  of  their  infants  in  the  wall 
of  the  building. 

18.  And  the  task  masters  prevail- 
ed over  Israel,  that  the  Israelites 
should  place  their  children  in  the 
building,  so  that  a  man  placed  his 
son  in  the  wall  and  put  mortar  over 
him,  whilst  his  eyes  wept  over  him, 
and  his  tears  ran  down  upon  his 
child. 

19.  And  the  task  masters  of  Egypt 
did  so  to  the  babes  of  Israel  for  many 
days,  and  no  one  pitied  or  had  com- 
passion over  the  babes  of  the  children 
of  Israel. 

20.  And  the  number  of  all  the 
children  killed  in  the  building  was 
two  hundred  and  seventy,  some 
whom  they  had  built  upon  instead  of 
the  bricks  which  had  been  left  de- 
ficient by  their  fathers,  and  some 
whom  they  had  drawn  out  dead  from 
the  building. 

21.  And  the  labor  imposed  upon 
the  children  of  Israel  in  the  days  of 
Adikam  exceeded  in  hardship  that 
which  they  performed  in  the  days  of 
his  father. 


232 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


22.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
sighed  every  day  on  account  of  their 
heavy  work,  for  they  had  said  to 
themselves,  behold  when  Pharaoh 
shall  die,  his  son  will  rise  up  and 
lighten  our  work  ! 

23.  But  they  increased  the  latter 
work  more  than  the  former,  and  the 
children  of  Israel  sighed  at  this  and 
their  cry  ascended  to  God  on  account 
of  their  labor. 

24.  And  God  heard  the  voice  of 
the  children  of  Israel  and  their  cry, 
in  those  days,  and  God  remembered 
to  them  his  covenant  which  he  had 
made  with  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Ja- 
cob 

25.  And  God  saw  the  burden  of 
the  children  of  Israel,  and  their 
heavy  work  in  those  days,  and  he 
determined  to  deliver  them. 

26.  And  Moses  the  son  of  Am- 
ram  was  still  confined  in  the  dungeon 
in  those  days,  in  the  house  of  Reuel 
the  Midianite,  and  Zipporah  the 
daughter  of  Reuel  did  support  him 
with  food  secretly  day  by  day. 

27.  And  Moses  was  confined  in 
the  dungeon  in  the  house  of  Reuel 
for  ten  years. 

28.  And  at  the  end  of  ten  years, 
which  was  the  first  year  of  the  reign 
of  Pharaoh*  over  Egypt,  in  the  place 
of  his  father, 

29.  Zipporah  said  to  her  father 
Reuel,  no  person  inquires  or  seeks 
after  the  Hebrew  man,  whom  thou 
didst  bind  in  prison  now  ten  years. 

30.  Now  therefore,  if  it  seem  ffood 
m  thy  sight,  let  us  send  and  see 
whether  he  is  living  or  dead,  but  her 
father  knew  not  that  she  had  support- 
ed him. 

31.  And  Reuel  her  father  answer- 
ed and  said  to  her,  has  ever  such  a 
thing  happened  that  a  man  should  be 

*  Adikam. 


shut  up  in  a  prison  without  food  for 
ten  years,  and  that  he  should  live  ? 

32.  And  Zipporah  answered  her 
father,  saying,  surely  thou  hast  heard 
that  the  God  of  the  Hebrews  is  great 
and  awful,  and  does  wonders  for 
them  at  all  times. 

33.  He  it  was  who  delivered 
Abraham  from  Ur*  of  the  Chaldeans, 
and  Isaac  from  the  sword  of  his  fa- 
ther, and  Jacob  from  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  who  wrestled  with  him  at  the 
ford  of  Jabbuk. 

34.  Also  with  this  man  has  he 
done  many  things,  he  delivered  him 
from  the  river  in  Egypt  and  from  the 
sword  of  Pharaoh,  and  from  the 
children  of  Gush,  so  also  can  he  de- 
liver him  from  famine  and  make  him 
live, 

35.  And  the  thing  seemed  good 
in  the  sight  of  Reuel,  and  he  did  ac- 
cording to  the  word  of  his  daughter, 
and  sent  to  the  dungeon  to  ascertain 
what  became  of  Moses. 

36.  And  he  saw,  and  behold  the 
man  Moses  was  living  in  the  dun- 
geon, standing  upon  his  feet,  praising 
and  praying  to  the  God  of  his  ances- 
tors. 

37.  And  Reuel  commanded  Mo- 
ses to  be  brought  out  of  the  dungeon, 
so  they  shaved  him  and  he  changed 
his  prison  garments  and  ate  bread. 

38.  And  afterward  Moses  went  in- 
to the  garden  of  Reuel  which  was 
behind  the  house,  and  he  there  pray- 
ed to  the  Lord  his  God,  who  had 
done  mightv  wonders  for  him. 

39.  And  it  was  that  whilst  he 
prayed  he  looked  opposite  to  him, 
and  behold  a  sapphire  stick  was  placed 
in  the  ground,  which  was  planted  in 
the  midst  of  the  garden. 

*  11N  means  also  a  fire  and  this  alludes  (ac. 
cording  to  a  story  in  this  book)  to  the  oven  in 
which  Abraham  was  put. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER 


233 


40.  And  he  approached  the  stick 
and  he  looked,  and  behold  the  name 
of  the  Lord  God  of  hosts*  was  en- 
graved thereon,  written  and  develop- 
ed upon  the  slick. 

41.  And  he  read  it  and  stretched 
forth  his  hand  and  he  plucked  it  like 
a  forest  tree  from  the  thicket,  and  the 
stick  was  in  his  hand. 

42.  And  this  was  the  stick  with 
which  all  the  workst  of  our  Cod 
were  performed,  after  he  had  created 
heaven  and  earth,  and  all  the  host  of 
them,  seas,  rivers  and  all  their  fishes. 

43.  And  when  God  had  driven 
Adam  from  the  garden  of  Eden,  he 
took  the  slick  in  his  hand  and  went 
and  tilled  the  ground  from  which  he 
was  taken, 

44.  And  the  slick  came  down  to 
Noah  and  was  given  to  Shem  and 
his  descendants,  until  it  came  into  the 
hand  of  Abraham  the  Hebrew. 

45.  And  when  Abraham  had  given 
all  he  had  to  his  son  Isaac,  he  also 
gave  to  him  this  stick. 

46.  And  when  Jacob  had  fled  to 
Padan-aram,  he  look  it  into  his  hand, 
and  when  he  returned  to  his  father  he 
had  not  left  il  behind  him. 

47.  Also  when  he  went  down  to 
Egypt  he  took  it  into  his  hand  and 
gave  il  to  Joseph,  one  portion  above 
his  brethren,  for  Jacob  had  taken  il 
by  force  from  his  brother  Esau.:}: 

48.  And  after  the  death  of  Joseph, 

*  Meaning  that  the  full  name,  what  the  He- 
brews call  the  ineffable  name  of  Jehovah,  was 
written  upon  the  stick.  (See  Talmud.)  In 
one  edition  I  find  pinax  tiSn  "  DB'  and  in  another 

t  MeaninjT  the  works  of  man  influenced  by 
God,  as  he  enumerates. 

X  The  author  of  this  book  wishes  here  to 
explain  that  obscure  part  in  the  Bible,  Genesis, 
oh.  48,  V,  22,  "  Moreover  I  have  given  to  the*^ 
a  portion  above  thy  brethren  which  I  took  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  Amorite,  &c."  calling  Esau, 
from  his  conduct,  an  Amorite  ;  but  it  never  al- 
luded to  this  tale. 


the  nobles  of  Egypt  came  into  the 
house  of  Joseph,  and  the  stick  came 
into  the  hand  of  Reucl  the  Midianite, 
and  when  he  went  out  of  Egypt,  he 
look  it  in  his  hand  and  planted  it  in 
his  garden. 

49.  And  all  the  mighty  men  of  the 
Kiriites  tried  to  pluck  it  when  they 
endeavored  to  gel  Zipporah  his 
daughter,  but  ihey  were  unsuccess- 
ful. 

50.  So  that  slick  remained  plant- 
ed in  the  garden  of  Reuel,  until  he 
came  who  had  a  right  to  it  and  took 
it. 

51.  And  when  Reuel  saw  the 
stick  in  the  hand  of  Moses,  he  won- 
dered al  it,  and  he  gave  him  his 
daughter  Zipporah  for  a  wife. 

CHAPTER  LXXVHI. 

1 .  At  that  time  died  Balchannan 
son  of  Achbor,  king  of  Edom,  and 
was  buried  in  his  house  in  the  land 
of  Edom. 

2.  And  after  his  death  the  children 
of  Esau  sent  to  the  land  of  Edom, 
and  took  from  there  a  man  who  was 
in  Edom,  whose  name  was  Hadad, 
and  they  made  him  king  over  them 
in  the  place  of  Balchaiman,  iheir 
king. 

3.  And  Hadad  reigned  over  the 
children  of  Edom  forty  eight  years. 

4.  And  when  he  reigned  he  re- 
solved.to  fight  against  the  children 
of  Moab,  to  bring  them  under  the 
power  of  the  children  of  Esau  as 
they  were  before,  but  he  was  not  able, 
because  the  children  of  Moab  heard 
this  thing,  and  they  rose  up  and  has- 
tened to  elect  a  king  over  them  from 
amongst  their  brethren. 

5.  And  they  afterward  gathered 
together  a  great  people,  and  sent  to 
the  children  of  Ammon  their  brethren 


2^4 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


for  help  to  fight  against  Hadad  king 
of  Edom. 

6.  And  Hadad  heard  the  thing 
which  the  children  of  Moab  had  done, 
and  was  greatly  afraid  of  them,  and 
refrained  from  fighting  against  them. 

7.  In  those  days  Moses,  the  son 
of  Amram,  in  Midian,  took  Zipporah, 
the  daughter  of  Reuel  the  Midian- 
ite,  for  a  wife. 

8.  And  Zipporah  walked  in  the 
ways  of  the  daugliters  of  Jacob,  she 
was  nothing  short  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  Sarah,  Rebecca,  Rachel  and 
Leah. 

9.  And  Zipporah  conceived  and 
bare  a  son  and  he  called  his  name 
Gershom,  for  he  said,  I  was  a  stran- 
ger in  a  foreign  land  ;  but  he  circum- 
cised not  his  foreskin,  at  the  com- 
mand of  Reuel  his  father-in-law. 

10.  And  she  conceived  again  and 
bare  a  son,  but  circumcised  his  fore- 
skin, and  called  his  name  Eliezer,  for 
Moses  said,  because  the  God  of  my 
fathers  was  my  help,  and  delivered 
me  from  the  sword  of  Pharaoh. 

11.  And  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt 
greatly  increased  the  labor  of  the 
children  of  Israel  in  those  days,  and 
continued  to  make  his  yoke  heavier 
upon  the  children  of  Israel. 

12.  And  he  ordered  a  proclama- 
tion to  be  made  in  Ecrypt,  saving, 
give  no  more  straw  to  the  people  to 
make  bricks  with,  let  them  go  and 
gather  themselves  straw  as  they  can 
find  it. 

13.  Also  the  tale  of  bricks  which 
they  shall  make  let  them  give  each 
day,  and  diminish  nothing  from  them, 
for  they  are  idle  in  their  work. 

14.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
heard  this,  and  they  mourned  and 
sighed,  and  they  cried  unto  the  Lord 
on  account  of  the  bitterness  of  their 
souls. 


15.  And  the  Lord  heard  the  cries 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  saw  the 
oppression  with  which  the  Egyptians 
oppressed  them. 

16.  And  the  Lord  was  jealous  of 
his  people  and  his  inheritance,*  and 
heard  their  voice,  and  he  resolved  to 
take  them  out  of  the  aflSiction  of 
Egypt,  to  give  them  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan for  a  possession. 

CHAPTER  LXXIX. 

1.  And  in  those  days  Moses  was 
feeding  the  flock  of  Reuel  the  Midi- 
anite  his  father-in-law,  beyond  the 
wilderness  of  Sin,  and  the  stick  which 
he  took  from  his  father-in-law  was  in 
his  hand. 

2.  And  it  came  to  pass  one  day 
that  a  kid  of  goats  strayed  from  the 
flock,  and  Moses  pursued  it  and  came 
to  the  mountain  of  God  to  Horeb. 

3.  And  when  he  came  to  Horeb, 
the  Lord  appeared  there  unto  him  in 
the  bush,  and  he  found  the  bush  burn- 
ing with  fire,  but  the  fire  had  no 
power  over  the  bush  to  consume  it. 

4.  And  Moses  was  greatly  asto- 
nished at  this  sight,  wherefore  the 
bush  was  not  consumed,  and  he  ap- 
proached to  see  this  mighty  thing, 
and  the  Lord  called  unto  Moses  out 
of  the  fire  and  commanded  him  to  go 
down  to  Egypt,  to  Pharaoh  king  of 
Egypt,  to  send  the  children  of  Israel 
from  his  service. 

5.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
go  return  to  Egypt,  for  all  those  men 
who  sought  thy  life  are  dead,  and 
thou  shalt  speak  unto  Pharaoh  to  send 
forth  the  children  of  Israel  from  his 
land. 

6.  And  the  Lord  showed  him  to 
do  signs  and  wonders  in  Egypt  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  Pharaoh  and  the  eyes 

*  Israel  was  called  God's  inheritance. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


235 


of  his  subjects,  in  order  that  ihey 
might  beheve  that  the  Lord  had  sent 
him. 

7.  And  Moses  hearkened  to  all 
that  the  Lord  had  commanded  him. 
and  he  returned  to  his  fathcr-in-hiw 
and  told  him  the  thing,  and  Reuel 
said  to  him,  go  in  peace. 

8.  And  Moses  rose  up  to  go  to 
Egypt,  and  he  took  his  wife  and  sons 
with  him,  and  he  was  at  an  inn  in 
the  road,  and  an  angel  of  God  came 
down,  and  sought  an  occasion  against 
him. 

9.  And  he  wished  to  kill  him  on 
account  of  his  first  born  son,  because 
he  had  not  circumcised  him,  and  had 
transgressed  the  covenant  which  the 
Lord  had  made  with  Abraham. 

10.  For  Moses  had  hearkened  to 
the  words  of  his  father-in-law  wliich 
he  had  spoken  to  him,  not  to  circum- 
cise his  first  born  son,  therefore  he 
circumcised  him  not. 

1 1 .  And  Zipporah  saw  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  seeking  an  occasion 
against  Moses,  and  she  knew  that 
this  thing  was  owing  to  his  not  hav- 
ing circumcised  her  son  Gershom. 

12.  And  Zipporah  hastened  and 
took  of  the  sharp  rock  stones  that 
were  there,  and  she  circumcised  her 
son,  and  delivered  her  husband  and 
her  son  from  the  hand  of  the  angel 
of  the  Lord. 

13.  And  Aaron  the  son  of  Amram, 
the  brother  of  Moses,  was  in  Egypt 
walking  at  the  river  side  on  that  day. 

14.  And  the  Lord  appeared  to  him 
in  that  place,  and  he  said  to  him,  go 
now  toward  Moses  in  the  wilderness, 
and  he  went  and  met  him  in  the 
mountain  of  God,  and  he  kissed  him. 

15.  And  Aaron  lifted  up  his  eyes, 
and  saw  Zipporah  the  wife  of  Moses 
and  her  children,  and  he  said  unto 
Moses,  who  are  these  unto  thee  ? 


16.  And  Moses  said  to  him,  they 
are  my  wife  and  sons,  which  God 
gave  to  me  in  Midian  ;  and  the  thing 
grieved  Aaron  on  account  of  the  wo- 
man and  her  children. 

17.  And  Aaron  said  to  Moses, 
send  away  the  woman  and  her  chil- 
dren that  they  may  go  to  her  father's 
house,  and  Moses  hearkened  to  the 
words  of  Aaron,  and  did  so. 

18.  And  Zipporah  returned  ^vith 
her  children,  and  they  went  to  the 
house  of  Reuel,  and  remained  there 
until  the  time  arrived  wiien  the  Lord 
had  visited  his  people,  and  brought 
them  forth  from  Egypt  from  the  hand 
of  Pharaoh. 

19.  And  Moses  and  Aaron  came 
to  Egypt  to  the  community  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  and  they  spoke  to 
them  all  the  words  of  the  Lord, 
and  tiie  people  rejoiced  an  exceed- 
ing great  rejoicing. 

20.  And  Moses  and  Aaron  rose 
up  early  on  the  next  day,  and  they 
went  to  the  house  of  Pharaoh  and 
they  took  in  their  hands  the  stick  of 
God. 

21.  And  when  they  came  to  the 
king's  gate,  two  young  lions  were 
confined  there  with  iron  instruments, 
and  no  person  went  out  or  came  in 
from  before  them,  unless  those  whom 
the  king  ordered  to  come,  when  the 
conjurors  came  and  withdrew  the 
lions  by  their  incantations,  and  thiis 
brought  them  to  the  king. 

22.  And  Moses  hastened  and  lifted 
up  the  stick  upon  the  lions,  and  he 
loosed  them,  and  Moses  and  Aaron 
came  into  the  king's  house. 

23.  The  lions  also  came  with  them 
joy,  and  they  followed  them  and 


m 


dog 
he 


rejoices  over  his 
comes   from   the 


rejoiced  as  a 
master  when 
field. 

24.  And  when  Pharaoh  saw  this 


236 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


thing  he  was  astonished  at  it,  and  he 
was  greatly  terrified  at  the  report, 
for  their*  appearance  was  hke  the 
appearance  of  the  children!  of  God. 

25.  And  Pharaoh  said  to  Moses, 
what  do  you  require  ?  and  they  an- 
swered him,  saying,  the  Lord  God  of 
the  Hebrews  has  sent  us  to  thee,  to 
say,  send  forth  my  people  that  they 
may  serve  me. 

26.  And  when  Pharaoh  heard  their 
words  he  was  greatly  terrified  before 
them,  and  he  said  to  them,  go  to  day 
and  come  back  to  me  to  morrow, 
and  they  did  according  to  tlie  word 
of  the  king. 

27.  And  when  they  had  gone  Pha- 
raoh sent  for  Balaam  the  magician 
and  to  Jannes  and  Jambres  his  sous, 
and  to  all  the  magicians  and  conjurors 
and  counsellors  which  belonged  to 
the  king,  and  they  all  came  and  sat 
before  the  king. 

28.  And  the  king  told  them  all 
the  words  which  Moses  and  his  bro- 
ther Aaron  had  spoken  to  him,  and 
the  magicians  said  to  the  king,  but 
how  came  the  men  to  thee,  on  account 
of  the  lions  which  were  confined  at 
the  gate  ? 

29.  And  the  king  said,  because 
they  lifted  up  their  rod  against  the 
lions  and  loosed  them,  and  came  to 
me,  and  the  lions  also  rejoiced  at 
them  as  a  dog  rejoices  to  meet  his 
master. 

30.  And  Balaam  the  son  of  Beor 
the  magician  answered  the  king, 
saying,  these  are  none  else  than  ma- 
gicians like  ourselves. 

31.  Now  therefore  send  for  them, 
and  let  them  come  and  we  will  try 
them,  and  the  king  did  so. 

32.  And  in  the  morning  Pharaoh 
sent  for  Moses  and  Aaron  to  come 
before  the  king,  and  they  took  the 

*  Moses  and  Aaron.  tAngelic  form. 


rod  of  God,  and  came  to  the  king 
and  spoke  to  him,  saying, 

33.  Thus  said  the  Lord  God  of 
the  Hebrews,  send  my  people  that 
they  may  serve  me. 

34.  And  the  king  said  to  them, 
but  who  will  believe  you  that  you 
are  the  messengers  of  God  and  that 
you  come  to  me  by  his  order  ? 

35.  Now  therefore  give  a  wonder 
or  sign  in  this  matter,  and  then  the 
words  which  you  speak  will  be  be- 
lieved. 

36.  And  Aaron  hastened  and  threw 
the  rod  out  of  his  hand  before  Pha- 
raoh and  before  his  servants,  and  the 
rod  turned  into  a  serpent. 

37.  And  the  sorcerers  saw  this 
and  they  cast  each  man  his  rod 
upon  the  ground  and  they  became 
serpents. 

38.  And  the  serpent  of  Aaron's 
rod  lifled  up  its  head  and  opened  its 
mouth  to  swallow  the  rods  of  the 
magicians. 

39.  And  Balaam  the  magician  an- 
swered and  said,  this  thing  has  been 
from  the  days  of  old,  that  a  serpent 
should  swallow  its  fellow,  and  that 
living  things  devour  each  other. 

40.  Now  therefore  restore  it  to  a 
rod  as  it  was  at  first,  and  we  will 
also  restore  our  rods  as  they  were  at 
first,  and  if  thy  rod  shall  swallow 
our  rods,  then  shall  we  know  that  the 
spirit  of  God  is  in  thee,  and  if  not, 
thou  art  only  an  artificer  like  unto 
ourselves. 

41.  And  Aaron  hastened  and 
stretched  forth  his  hand  and  caught 
hold  of  the  serpent's  tail  and  it  be- 
came a' rod  in  his  hand,  and  the  sor- 
cerers did  the  like  with  their  rods, 
and  they  got  hold,  each  man  of  the 
tail  of  his  serpent,  and  they  became 
rods  as  at  first. 

42.  And  when  they  were  restored 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


237 


to  rods,  the  rod  of  Aaron  swallowed 
up  their  rods. 

43.  And  when  the  king  saw  this 
thing,  he  ordered  the  book  of  records 
that  related  to  the  kings  of  Egypt, 
to  be  brought,  and  they  brought  the 
book  of  records,  the  chronicles  of 
the  kings  of  Egypt,  in  which  all 
the  idols  of  Egypt  were  inscribed, 
for  they  thought  of  finding  therein 
the  name  of  Jehovah,  but  they  found 
it  not. 

44.  And  Pharaoh  said  to  Moses 
and  Aaron,  behold  I  have  not  found 
the  name  of  your  God  written  in  this 
book,  and  his  name  I  know  not. 

45.  And  the  counsellors  and  wise 
men  answered  the  king,  we  have 
heard  that  the  God  of  the  Hebrews 
is  a  son  of  the  wise,*  the  son  of  an- 
cient kings. 

46.  And  Pharaoh  turned  to  Moses 
and  Aaron  and  said  to  them,  I  know 
not  the  Lord  whom  you  have  declar- 
ed, neither  will  I  send  his  people. 

47.  And  they  answered  and  said 
to  the  king,  the  Lord  God  of  Gods 
is  his  name,  and  he  proclaimed  his 
name  over  us  from  the  days  of  our 
ancestors,  and  sent  us,  saying,  go  to 
Pharaoh  and  say  unto  him,  send  my 
people  that  they  may  serve  me. 

48.  Now  therefore  send  us,  that 
we  may  take  a  journey  for  three  days 
in  the  wilderness,  and  there  may 
sacrifice  to  him,  for  from  the  days 
of  our  going  down  to  Egypt,  he  has 
not  taken  from  our  hands,  either 
burnt  offering,  oblation  or  sacrifice, 
and  if  thou  wilt  not  send  us,  his  an- 
ger will  be  kindled  against  thee,  and 
he  will  smite  Egypt  cither  with 
the  plague  or  with  the  sword. 

49.  And  Pharaoh  said  to  them,  tell 
me  now  his  power  and  his  might ; 
and  they  said  to  him,  he  created  the 

*  See  the  same,  Isaiah,  ch.  19,  v.  11. 


heaven  and  the  earth,  the  seas  and 
all  their  fishes,  he  formed  the  light, 
created  the  darkness,  caused  rain 
upon  the  earth  and  watered  it,  and 
made  the  herbage  and  grass  to  sprout, 
he  created  man  and  beast  and  the 
animals  of  the  forest,  the  birds  of 
the  air  and  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and 
by  his  mouth  they  live  and  die. 

50.  iSurely  he  created  thee  in  thy 
mother's  womb,  and  put  into  thee 
the  breath  of  life,  and  reared  thee  and 
placed  thee  upon  the  royal  throne  of 
Egypt,  and  he  will  take  thy  breath 
and  soul  from  thee,  and  return  thee 
to  the  ground  whence  thou  wast 
taken. 

51 .  And  the  anger  of  the  king  was 
kindled  at  their  words,  and  he  said 
to  them,  but  who  amongst  all  the 
Gods  of  nations  can  do  this  ?  my* 
river  is  mine  own,  and  I  have  made 
it  for  myself. 

52.  And  he  drove  them  from  him, 
and  he  ordered  the  labor  upon  Israel 
to  be  more  severe  than  it  was  yester- 
day t  and  before. 

53.  And  Moses  and  Aaron  went 
out  from  the  king's  presence,  and 
they  saw  the  children  of  Israel  in  an 
evil  condition  for  the  task  masters 
had  made  their  labor  exceedingly- 
heavy. 

54.  And  Moses  returned  to  the 
Lord  and  said,  why  hast  thou  ill  treat- 
ed thy  people  ?  for  since  I  came  to 
speak  to  Pharaoh  what  thou  didst 
send  me  for,  he  has  exceedingly  ill 
used  the  children  of  Israel. 

55.  And  the  Lord  said  to  Moses, 
behold  thou  wilt  see  that  with  an 
outstretched  hand  and  heavy  plagues, 
Pharaoh  will  send  the  children  of 
Israel  from  his  land. 

*  See  Ezekiel,  ch.  29,  v.  3. 
t  Literally,  from  yesterday  and  the  day  be- 
fore, i.  e.  lately. 


238 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


56.  And  Moses  and  Aaron  dwelt 
amongst  their  brethren  the  children 
of  Israel  in  Egypt. 

57.  And  as  for  the  children  of 
Israel  the  Egyptians  embittered  their 
lives,  with  the  heavy  work  which 
they  imposed  upon  them. 

CHAPTER  LXXX. 

1.  And  at  the  end  of  two  years, 
the  Lord  again  sent  Moses  to  Pha- 
raoh to  bring  forth  the  children  of 
Israel,  and  to  send  them  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt. 

2.  And  Moses  went  and  came  to 
the  house  of  Pharaoh,  and  he  spoke 
to  him  the  words  of  the  Lord  who 
had  sent  him,  but  Pharaoh  would 
not  hearken  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord, 
and  God  roused  his  might  in  Egypt 
upon  Pharaoh  and  his  subjects,  and 
God  smote  Pharaoh  and  his  people 
with  very  great  and  sore  plagues. 

3.  And  the  Lord  sent  by  the  hand 
of  Aaron  and  turned  all  the  waters  of 
Egypt  into  blood,  with  all  their 
streams  and  rivers. 

4.  And  when  an  Egyptian  came 
to  drink  and  draw  water,  he  looked 
into  his  pitcher,  and  behold  all  the 
water  was  turned  into  blood  ;  and 
when  he  came  to  drink  from  his  cup 
the  water  in  the  cup  became  blood. 

5.  And  when  a  woman  kneaded 
her  dough  and  cooked  her  victuals, 
their  appearance  was  turned  to  that 
of  blood. 

6.  And  the  Lord  sent  again  and 
caused  all  their  waters  to  bring  forth 
frogs,  and  all  the  frogs  came  into  the 
houses  of  the  Egyptians. 

7.  And  when  the  Egyptians  drank, 
their  bellies  were  filled  with  frogs 
and  they  danced  in  their  bellies  as 
they  dance  when  in  the  river. 

8.  And  all  their   drinking  water 


and  cooking  water  turned  to  frogs, 
also  when  they  lay  in  their  beds 
their  perspiration  bred  frogs. 

9.  Notwithstanding  all  this  the 
anger  of  the  Lord  did  not  turn  from 
them,  and  his  hand  w^as  stretched  out 
against  all  the  Egyptians  to  smite 
them  with  every  heavy  plague. 

10.  And  he  sent  and  smote  their 
dust  to  lice,  and  the  lice  became  in 
Egypt  to  the  height  of  two  cubits 
upon  the  earth. 

1 1 .  The  lice  were  also  very 
numerous,  in  the  flesh  of  man  and 
beast,  in  all  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt, 
also  upon  the  king  and  queen  the 
Lord  sent  the  lice,  and  it  grieved 
Egypt  exceedingly  on  account  of  the 
lice. 

12.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  an- 
ger of  the  Lord  did  not  turn  away, 
and  his  hand  was  still  stretched  out 
over  Egypt. 

13.  And  the  Lord  sent  all  kinds 
of  beasts  of  the  field  into  Egypt, 
and  they  came  and  destroyed  all 
Egypt,  man  and  beast,  and  trees, 
and  all  things  that  were  in  Egypt. 

14.  And  the  Lord  sent  fiery  ser- 
pents, scorpions,  mice,  weazles, 
toads,  together  with  others  creeping 
in  dust. 

1 5.  Flies,  hornets,  fleas,  bugs*  and 
gnats,  each  swarmt  according  to  its 
kind. 

16.  And  all  reptiles  and  winged 
animals  according  to  their  kind  came 
to  Egypt  and  grieved  the  Egyptians 
exceedingly. 

17.  And  the  fleas  and  flies  came 

*  K^n>  CiBB'fi  are  not  found  in  the  Hebrew 
Bible,  but  in  the  Mishnah  and  Talmud  mean  a 
bug  and  a  gnat.     See  Bux.  Rabb.  Les. 

t  See  Parkhurst's  Hebrew  Lexicon  upon 
any.  In  the  Bible  it  is  translated  swarrn  of 
flies,  but  this  book  explains  the  swarm  to  be  a 
mixture  of  all  sorts  of  animals,  birds  and  insects, 
as  31J?  means  to  mix. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


239 


into  the  eyes  and  ears  of  the  Egyp- 
tians. 

18.  And  the  hornet  came  upon 
them  and  drove  them  away,  and  they 
removed  from  it  uito  their  inner 
rooms,  and  it  pursued  them. 

19.  And  when  tlie  Egyptians  hid 
themselves  on  account  of  the  swarm 
of  animals,  they  locked  their  doors 
after  them,  and  God  ordered  the 
Sulanuth*  which  was  in  the  sea,  to 
come  up  and  go  into  Egypt. 

20.  And  she  had  long  arms,  ten 
cubits  in  Icnglli  of  the  cubit  of  a  man. 

21.  And  she  went  upon  the  roofs 
and  uncovered  the  raftcringt  and 
flooring  and  cut  them,  and  stretched 
forth  her  arm  into  the  house  and  re- 
moved the  lock  and  the  bolt,  and 
opened  the  houses  of  Egypt. 

22.  Afterward  came  the  swarm  of 
animals  into  the  houses  of  Egypt, 
and  the  swarm  of  animals  destroyed 
the  Egyptians,  and  it  grieved  them 
exceedingly. 

23.  Notwithstanding  this  the  an- 
ger of  the  Lord  did  not  turn  away 
from  the  Egyptians,  and  his  hand 
was  yet  stretched  forth  against  them. 

24.  And  God  sent  the  pestilence, 
and  the  pestilence  pervaded  Egypt, 
in  the  horses  and  asses,  and  in  the 
camels,  in  herds  of  oxen  and  sheep 
and  in  man. 

25.  And  when  the  Egyptians  rose 
up  early  in  the  morning  to  take  their 
cattle  to  pasture  they  found  all  their 
cattle  dead. 

*  n>x'?lD  the  name  of  a  sea  monster,  I  cannot 
find  it  in  any  of  the  Hebrew  books. 

t  n^MpDi  mpnn  nx,  these  two  words  are  not 
found  in  the  Bible,  but  are  joined  together  in 
the  Talmud,  page  116,  of  Bava  Mctziah,  where 
there  is  a  rabbinical  dispute  what  these  words 
mean  ;  mpn  comes  from  mp  to  contisfnate,  and 
na'Tj;  comes  from  o^Scn^  nK  laip^v  Nehemiah, 
ch.  3,  V.  8,  which  some  Jewish  commentators 
give,  to  build  up ;  see  Buxton,  Gesenius  and 
Parkhurst. 


26.  And  there  remained  of  the 
cattle  of  the  Egyptians  only  one  in 
ten,  and  of  the  cattle  belonging  to 
Israel  in  Goshen  not  one  died. 

27.  And  God  sent  a  burning  in- 
flammation in  the  flesh  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, which  burst  their  skins,  and  it 
became  a  severe  itch  in  all  the 
Egyptians  from  the  soles  of  their  feet 
to  the  crowns  of  their  heads. 

28.  And  many  boils  were  in  their 
flesh,  that  their  flesh  wasted  away 
until  they  became  rotten  and  putrid. 

29.  Notwithstanding  this  tiie  an- 
ger of  the  Lord  did  not  turn  away, 
and  his  hand  was  still  stretched  out 
over  all  Egypt. 

30.  And  the  Lord  sent  a  very 
heavy  hail,  which  smote  their  vines 
and  broke  their  fruit  trees  and  dried 
them  up  that  they*  fell  upon  them. 

31 .  Also  every  green  herb  became 
dry  and  perished,  for  a  minglingt 
fire  descended  amidst  the  hail,  there- 
fore the  hail  and  the  fire  consumed 
all  things. 

32.  Also  men  and  beasts  that 
were  found  abroad  perished  of  the 
flames  of  fire  and  of  the  hail,  and  all 
the  young  %  lions  were  exhausted. 

33.  And  the  Lord  seni  and  brought 
nmnerous  locusts  into  Egpyt,  the 
Chasel,  Salom  Chargol,  and  Cha- 
gole,^  locusts  each  of  its  kind,  which 
devoured  all  that  the  hail  had  left  re- 
maining. 

*  The  trees  became  decayed  and  fell  upon 
the  Egyptians. 

t  See  Exodus,  ch.  9,  v.  24. 

X  itJ'nJ  on>03n  Sdi  it  is  thus  in  the  modem 
edition,  but  in  the  Venice  edition  it  is  onoan 
which  nmy  mean  villages,  and  the  verb  cni 
means  likewise  to  extirpate,  root  up,  that  all  the 
villages  were  destroyed  ;  see  Psalms,  ch.  9,  v. 
7  ;  Jeremiah,  ch.  31,  v.  40  ;  but  I  prefer  the 
first. 

<J  3jn,  Sjin,  djjSd,  "jion,  four  species  of  locusts 
mentioned  in  scripture  and  each  translated  lo- 
custs ;  see  Joel,  1,  4,  and  2,  25.  The  dj?Sd  is 
only  found  once.     Levit.  ch.  11,  v.  22. 


240 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


34.  Then  the  Egyptians  rejoiced 
at  the  locusts,  although  they  consum- 
ed the  produce  of  the  field,  and  they 
caught  them  in  abundance  and  salted 
them  for  food.* 

35.  And  the  Lord  turned  a  mighty 
wind  of  the  sea  which  took  away  all 
the  locusts,  even  those  that  were 
salted,  and  thrust  them  into  the  Red 
Sea  ;  not  one  locust  remained  within 
the  boundaries  of  Egypt. 

36.  And  God  sent  darkness  upon 
Egypt,  that  the  whole  land  of  Egypt 
and  Pathros  became  dark  for  three 
days,  so  that  a  man  could  not  see  his 
hand  when  he  lifted  it  to  his  mouth. 

37.  At  that  time  died  many  of 
the  people  of  Israel  who  had  rebelled 
against  the  Lord  and  who  would  not 
hearken  to  Moses  and  Aaron,  and 
believed  not  in  them  that  God  had 
sent  them. 

38.  And  who  had  said,  we  will 
not  go  forth  from  Egypt  lest  we  per- 
ish with  hunger  in  a  desolate  wil- 
derness, and  who  would  not  hearken 
to  the  voice  of  Moses. 

39.  And  the  Lord  plagued  them 
in  the  three  days  of  darkness,  and 
the  Israelites  buried  them  in  those 
days,  without  the  Egyptians  know- 
ing of  them  or  rejoicing  over  them. 

40.  And  the  darkness  was  very 
great  in  Egypt  for  three  days,  and 
any  person  who  was  standing  when 
the  darkness  came,  remained  stand- 
ing in  his  place,  and  he  that  was  sit- 
ting, remained  sitting,  and  he  that 
was  lying  continued  lying  in  the 
same  state,  and  he  that  was  walking 
remained  sitting  upon  the  ground  in 
the  same  spot;  and  this  thing  hap- 
pened to  all  the  Egyptians,  until  the 
darkness  had  passed  away. 

41.  And   the  days    of    darkness 

|l  See  Parkhurst  upon  naiN  locusts  under  the 
root  n3") 


passed  away,  and  the  Lord  sent  Mo- 
ses and  Aaron  to  the  children  of  Is- 
rael, saying,  celebrate  your  feast  and 
make  your  passover,  for  behold  I 
come  in  the  midst  of  the  night 
amongst  all  the  Egyptians,  and  I  will 
smite  all  their  first  born,  from  the  first 
born  of  a  man  to  the  first  born  of  a 
beast,  and  when  I  see  your  passover, 
I  will  pass  over  you. 

42.  And  the  children  of  Israel  did 
according  to  all  that  the  Lord  had 
commanded  Moses  and  Aaron,  thus 
did  they  in  that  night. 

43.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the 
middle  of  the  night,  that  the  Lord 
went  forth  in  the  midst  of  Egypt,  and 
smote  all  the  first  born  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, from  the  first  born  of  man  to 
the  first  born  of  beast. 

44.  And  Pharaoh  rose  up  in  the 
night,  he  and  all  his  servants  and  all 
tlie  Egyptians,  and  there  was  a  great 
cry  throughout  Egypt  in  that  night, 
for  there  was  not  a  house  in  which 
there  was  not  a  corpse. 

45.  Also  the  likenesses  of  the  first 
born  of  Egypt,  which  were  carved  in 
the  walls  of  their  houses,  were  de- 
stroyed and  fell  to  the  ground. 

46.  Even  the  bones  of  their  first 
born  who  had  died  before  this  and 
whom  they  had  buried  in  their  houses, 
were  raked  up  by  the  dogs  of  Egypt 
on  that  night  and  dragged  before  the 
Egyptians  and  cast  before  them. 

47.  And  all  the  Egyptians  saw 
this  evil  which  had  suddenly  come 
upon  them,  and  all  the  Egyptians 
cried  out  with  a  loud  voice. 

48.  And  all  the  families  of  Egypt 
wept  upon  that  night,  each  man  for 
his  son,  and  each  man  for  his  daugh- 
ter, being  the  first  born,  and  the  tu- 
mvilt  of  Egypt  was  heard  at  a  dis- 
tance on  that  night. 

49.  And  Bathia  the  daughter  of 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


241 


Pharaoh*  went  forth  with  the  king 
on  that  night  to  seek  Moses  and 
Aaron  in  their  houses,  and  they  found 
them  in  their  houses,  eating  and 
drinking  and  rejoicing  with  all  Is- 
rael. 

50.  And  Bathia  said  to  Moses,  is 
this  the  reward  for  the  good  which  I 
have  done  to  thee,  who  have  reared 
thee  and  stretched  thee  out,  and  thou 
hast  brought  this  evil  upon  me  and 
my  fatiier's  liouse  ? 

51.  And  Moses  said  to  her,  surely 
ten  plagues  did  the  Lord  bring  upon 
Egypt ;  did  any  evil  accrue  to  thee 
from  any  of  them  ?  did  one  of  them 
affect  thee  ?  and  she  said,  no. 

52.  And  Moses  said  to  her,  al- 
though thou  art  the  first  born  to  thy 
mother,  thou  shall  not  die,  and  no 
evil  shall  reach  thee  in  the  midst  of 
Egypt. 

53.  And  she  said,  what  advantage 
is  it  to  me,  when  I  see  the  king,  my 
brother,  and  all  his  household  and 
subjects  in  this  evil,  whose  first  born 
perish  with  all  the  first  born  of  Egypt? 

54.  And  Moses  said  to  her,  surely 
thy  brother  and  his  household,  and 
subjects,  the  families  of  Egypt,  would 
not  hearken  to  the  words  of  the 
Lord,  therefore  did  this  evil  come 
upon  them. 

55.  And  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt 
approached  Moses  and  Aaron,  and 
some  of  the  children  of  Israel  who 
were  with  them  in  that  place,  and  he 
prayed  to  them,  saying, 

56.  Rise  up  and  take  your  bre- 
thren, all  the  children  of  Israel  who 
are  in  the  land,  with  their  sheep  and 
oxen,  and  all  belonging  to  them,  they 
shall  leave  nothing  remaining,  only 
pray  for  me  to  the  Lord  your  God. 

57.  And  Moses  said  to  Pharaoh, 
behold  though  thou  art  thy  mother's 

*  The  former  Pharaoh. 

16 


first  born,*  yet  fear  not,  for  thou  wilt 
not  die,  for  the  Lord  has  command- 
ed that  thou  shalt  live,  in  order  to 
show  thee  his  great  might  and  strong 
stretched  out  arm, 

58.  And  Pharaoh  ordered  the 
children  of  Israel  to  be  sent  away, 
and  all  the  Egyptians  strengthened 
themselves  to  send  them,  for  they 
said,  we  are  all  perishing. 

59.  And  all  the  Egyptians  sent 
the  Israelites  forth,  with  great  riches, 
sheep  and  oxen  and  precious  things, 
according  to  the  oath  of  the  Lord 
between  him  and  our  father  Abra- 
ham. 

60.  And  the  children  of  Israel  de- 
layed going  forth  at  night,  and  when 
the  Egyptians  came  to  them  to  bring 
them  out,  tliey  said  to  them,  are  we 
thieves,  that  we  should  go  forth  at 
night  ? 

61.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
asked  of  the  Egyptians,  vessels  of 
silver,  and  vessels  of  gold,  and  gar- 
ments, and  the  children  of  Israel 
stripped  the  Egyptians. 

62.  And  Moses  hastened  and  rose 
up  and  went  to  the  river  of  Egypt, 
and  brought  up  from  thence  the  cof- 
fin of  Joseph  and  took  it  with  him. 

63.  The  children  of  Israel  also 
brought  up,  each  man  his  father's 
coflSn  with  him,  and  each  man  the 
coflinst  of  his  tribe, 

CHAPTER  LXXXI. 

1 .  And  the  children  of  Israel  jour- 
neyed from  Raamses  to  Succoth, 
about  six  hundred  thousand  men  on 

*  In  chapter  75,  v.  50,  we  are  told  that  Othjri 
was  the  first  bom,  but  an  idiot,  I  suppose  there- 
fore Adikam  assumed  the  birth  right  with  the 
crown. 

t  I  cannot  understand  this,  only  in  the  sense 
of  all  the  Hebrew  bodies  being  taken  with  them, 
unless  it  means  the  ark  of  his  tribe. 


242 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


foot,  besides  the  little  ones  and  their 
wives. 

2.  Also  a  mixed  multitude  went 
up  with  them,  and  flocks  and  herds, 
even  much  cattle. 

3.  And  the  sojourning  of  the  child- 
dren  of  Israel,  who  dwelt  in  the  land 
of  Egypt  in  hard  labor,  was  two  hun- 
dred and  ten  years. 

4.  And  at  the  end  of  two  hundred 
and  ten  years,  the  Lord  brought  forth 
the  children  of  Israel  from  Egypt 
with  a  strong  hand. 

5.  And  the  children  of  Israel  tra- 
velled from  Egypt  and  from  Goshen 
and  from  Raamses,  and  encamped  in 
Succoth  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  the 
first  month. 

6.  And  the  Egyptians  buried  all 
their  first  born  whom  the  Lord  had 
smitten,  and  all  the  Egyptians  buried 
their  slain  for  three  days. 

.  7.  And  the  children  of  Israel  tra- 
velled from  Succoth  and  encamped 
in  Ethom,  at  the  end  of  the  wilder- 
ness. 

8.  And  on  the  third  day  after  the 
Egyptians  had  buried  their  first  born, 
many  men  rose  up  from  Egypt  and 
went  after  Israel  to  make  them  return 
to  Egypt,  for  they  repented  that  they 
liad  sent  the  Israelites  away  from 
their  servitude. 

9.  And  one  man  said  to  his  neigh- 
bor, surely  Moses  and  Aaron  spoke 
to  Pharaoh,  saying,  w^e  will  go  a 
three  days' journey  in  the  wilderness 
and  sacrifice  to  the  Lord  our  God. 

1 0.  Now  therefore  let  us  rise  up 
early  in  the  morning  and  cause  them 
to  return,  and  it  shall  be  that  if  they 
return  with  us  to  Egypt  to  their  mas- 
ters, then  shall  we  know  that  there 
is  faith  in  them,  but  if  they  will  not 
return,  then  will  we  fight  with  them, 
and  make  them  come  back  with  great 
power  and  a  strong  hand. 


1 1 .  And  all  the  nobles  of  Pharaoh 
rose  up  in  the  morning,  and  with 
them  about  seven  hundred  thousand 
men,  and  they  went  forth  from  Egypt 
on  that  day,  and  came  to  the  place 
where  the  children  of  Israel  were. 

12.  And  all  the  Egyptians  saw 
and  behold  Moses  and  Aaron  and  all 
the  children  of  Israel  were  silting 
before  Pi-hahiroth,  eating  and  drink- 
ing and  celebrating  the  feast  of  the 
Lord. 

13.  And  all  the  Egyptians  said  to 
the  children  of  Israel,  surely  you  said, 
we  will  go  a  journey  for  three  days 
in  the  wilderness  and  sacrifice  to  our 
God,  and  return. 

14.  Now  therefore  this  day  makes 
five  days  since  you  went,  why  do 
you  not  return  to  your  masters  ? 

15.  And  Moses  and  Aaron  an- 
swered them,  saying,  because  the 
Lord  our  God  has  testified  in  us,  say- 
ing, you  shall  no  more  return  to 
Egypt,  but  we  will  betake  ourselves 
to  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  ho- 
ney, as  the  Lord  our  God  had  sworn 
to  our  ancestors  to  give  to  us. 

16.  And  when  the  nobles  of  Egypt 
saw  that  the  children  of  Israel  did 
not  hearken  to  them,  to  return  to 
Egypt,  they  girded  themselves  to 
fight  with  Israel. 

17.  And  the  Lord  strengthened 
the  hearts  of  the  children  of  Israel 
over  the  Egyptians,  that  they  gave 
them  a  severe  beating,  and  the  battle 
was  sore  upon  the  Egyptians,  and  all 
the  Egyptians  fled  from  before  the 
children  of  Israel,  for  many  of  them 
perished  by  the  hand  of  Israel. 

18.  And  the  nobles  of  Pharaoh 
went  to  Egypt  and  told  Pharaoh,  say- 
ing, the  children  of  Israel  have  fled, 
and  will  no  more  return  to  Egypt, 
and  in  this  manner  did  Moses  and 
Aaron  speak  to  us. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


243 


19.  And  Pharaoh  heard  this  thing, 
and  his  heart  and  the  hearts  of  all 
his  subjects  were  turned  against  Is- 
rael, and  they  repented  that  they  had 
sent  Israel ;  and  all  the  Egyptians 
advised  Pharaoh  to  pursue  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  to  make  them  come 
back  to  their  burdens. 

20.  And  they  said  each  man  to  his 
brother,  what  is  this  which  we  have 
done,  that  we  have  sent  Israel  from 
our  servitude  ? 

21.  And  the  Lord  strengthened 
the  hearts  of  all  the  Egyptians  to  pur- 
sue the  Israelites,  for  the  Lord  de- 
sired to  overthrow  the  Egyptians  in 
the  Red  Sea. 

22.  And  Pharaoh  rose  up  and  har- 
nessed his  chariot,  and  he  ordered  all 
the  Egyptians  to  assemble,  not  one 
man  was  left  excepting  the  little  ones 
and  the  women. 

23.  And  all  the  Egyptians  went 
forth  with  Pharaoh  to  pursue  the 
children  of  Israel,  and  the  camp  of 
Egypt  was  an  exceedingly  large  and 
heavy  camp,  about  ten  hundred  thou- 
sand men. 

24.  And  the  whole  of  this  camp 
went  and  pursued  the  children  of  Is- 
rael to  bring  them  back  to  Egypt, 
and  they  reached  them  encamping 
by  the  Red  Sea. 

25.  And  the  children  of  Israel  lift- 
ed up  their  eyes,  and  beheld  all  the 
Egyptians  pursuing  them,  and  the 
children  of  Israel  were  greatly  terri- 
fied at  them,  and  the  children  of  Is- 
rael cried  to  the  Lord. 

26.  And  on  account  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, the  children  of  Israel  divided 
themselves  into  four  divisions,  and 
they  were  divided  in  their  opinions, 
for  they  were  afraid  of  the  Egyptians, 
and  Moses  spoke  to  each  of  them. 

27.  The  first  division  was  of  the 
children  of  Reuben,  Simeon  and  Is- 


sachar,  and  they  resolved  to  cast 
themselves  into  the  sea,  for  they 
were  exceedingly  afraid  of  the  Egyp- 
tians. 

28.  And  Moses  said  to  them,  fear 
not,  stand  still  and  see  the  salvation 
of  the  Lord  which  he  will  effect  this 
day  for  you. 

29.  The  second  division  was  of 
the  children  of  Zebulun,  Benjamin 
and  Naphtali,  and  they  resolved  to 
go  back  to  Egypt  with  the  Egyp- 
tians. 

30.  And  Moses  said  to  them,  fear 
not,  for  as  you  have  seen  the  Egyp- 
tians this  day,  so  shall  you  see  them 
no  more  for  ever. 

31.  The  third  division  was  of  the 
children  of  Judah  and  Joseph,  and 
they  resolved  to  go  to  meet  the  Egyp- 
tians to  fight  with  them. 

32.  And  Moses  said  to  them,  stand 
in  your  places,  for  the  Lord  will  fight 
for  you,  and  you  shall  remain  silent. 

33.  And  the  fourth  division  was 
of  the  children  of  Levi,  Gad  and 
Asher,  and  they  resolved  to  go  into 
the  midst  of  the  Egyptians  to  con- 
found them,  and  Moses  said  to  them, 
remain  in  your  stations  and  fear  not, 
only  call  unto  the  Lord  that  he  may 
save  you  out  of  their  hands. 

34.  After  this  Moses  rose  up  from 
amidst  the  people,  and  he  prayed  to 
the  Lord  and  said, 

35.  0  Lord  God  of  the  whole 
earth,  save  now  thy  people  whom 
thou  didst  bring  forth  from  Egypt, 
and  let  not  the  Egyptians  boast  that 
power  and  might  are  theirs. 

36.  So  the  Lord  said  to  Moses, 
why  dost  thou  cry  unto  me  ?  speak 
to  the  children  of  Israel  that  they 
shall  proceed,  and  do  thou  stretch 
out  thy  rod  upon  the  sea  and  divide 
it,  and  the  children  of  Israel  shall 
pass  through  it. 


244 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


37.  And  Moses  did  so,  and  he 
lifted  up  his  rod  upon  the  sea  and  di- 
vided it. 

38.  And  the  waters  of  the  sea 
were  divided  into  twelve  parts,  and 
the  children  of  Israel  passed  through 
on  foot,  with  shoes,  as  a  man  would 
pass  through  a  prepared  road. 

39.  And  the  Lord  manifested  to 
the  children  of  Israel  his  wonders 
in  Egypt  and  in  the  sea  by  the  hand 
of  Moses  and  Aaron. 

40.  And  when  the  children  of 
Israel  had  entered  the  sea,  the 
Egyptians  came  after  them,  and 
the  waters  of  the  sea  returned 
upon  them,  and  they  all  sank  in 
the  water,  and  not  one  man  was  left 
excepting  Pharoah,  who  gave  thanks 
to  the  Lord  and  believed  in  him, 
therefore  the  Lord  did  not  cause  him 
to  perish  at  that  time  with  the  Egyp- 
tians. 

41.  And  the  Lord  ordered  an  an- 
gel to  take  him  from  amongst  the 
Egyptians,  who  cast  him  upon  the 
land  of  Ninevah  and  he  reigned  over 
it  for  a  long  time. 

42.  And  on  that  day  the  Lord 
saved  Israel  from  the  hand  of  Egypt, 
and  all  the  children  of  Israel  saw 
that  the  Egyptians  had  perished,  and 
they  beheld  the  great  hand  of  the 
Lord,  in  what  he  had  performed  in 
Egypt  and  in  the  sea. 

43.  Then  sang  Moses  and  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  this  song  unto  the 
Lord,  on  the  day  when  the  Lord 
caused  the  Egyptians  to  fall  before 
them. 

44.  And  all  Israel  sang  in  concert 
saying,  I  will  sing  to  the  Lord  for  he 
is  greatly  exalted,  the  horse  and  his 
rider  has  he  cast  into  the  sea  ;  behold 
it  is  written  in  the  book  of  the  law 
of  God. 

45.  After  this  the  children  of  Is- 


rael proceeded  on  their  journey,  and 
encamped  in  Marah,  and  the  Lord 
gave  to  the  children  of  Israel  statutes 
and  judgments  in  that  place  in  Marah, 
and  the  Lord  commanded  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  to  walk  in  all  his  ways 
and  to  serve  him. 

46.  And  they  journeyed  from  Ma- 
rah and  came  to  Elim,  and  in  Elim 
were  twelve  springs  of  water  and 
seventy  date  trees,  and  the  children 
encamped  there  by  the  waters. 

47.  And  they  journeyed  from  Ehm 
and  came  to  the  wilderness  of  Sin, 
on  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  second 
month    after    their   departure   from 

Egypt. 

48.  At  that  time  the  Lord  gave 
the  manna  to  the  children  of  Israel 
to  eat,  and  the  Lord  caused  food  to 
rain  from  heaven  for  the  children  of 
Israel  day  by  day. 

49.  And  the  children  of  Israel  ate 
the  manna  for  forty  years,  all  the 
days  that  they  were  in  the  wilderness, 
until  they  came  to  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan to  possess  it. 

50.  And  they  proceeded  from  the 
wilderness  of  Sin  and  encamped  in 
Alush. 

51.  And  they  proceeded  from 
Alush  and  encamped  in  Rephidim. 

52.  And  when  the  children  of  Is- 
rael were  in  Rephidim,  Amalek  the 
son  of  Eliphaz,  the  son  of  Esau,  the 
brother  of  Zepho,  came  to  fight  with 
Israel. 

53.  And  he  brought  with  him  eight 
hundred  and  one  thousand  men,  ma- 
gicians and  conjurers,  and  he  prepar- 
ed for  battle  with  Israel  in  Rephi- 
dim. 

54.  And  they  carried  on  a  great 
and  severe  battle  against  Israel,  and 
the  Lord  delivered  Amalek  and  his 
people  into  the  hands  of  Moses  and 
the  children   of  Israel,  and  into  the 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


245 


hand  of  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun,  the 
Ephrathite,  the  servant  of  Moses. 

55.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
smote  Amalek  and  his  people  at  the 
edge  of  the  sword,  but  the  battle  was 
very  sore  upon  the  children  of  Israel. 

56.  And  the  Lord  said  to  Moses, 
write  this  thing  as  a  memorial  for  thee 
in  a  book,  and  place  it  in  the  hand  of 
Joshua  the  son  of  Nun  thy  servant, 
and  thou  shalt  command  the  children 
of  Israel,  saying,  when  thou  shalt 
come  to  the  land  of  Canaan,  thou 
shalt  utterly  efface  the  remembrance 
of  Amalek  from  under  heaven. 

57.  And  Moses  did  so,  and  he  took 
the  book  and  wrote  upon  it  these 
words,  saying, 

58.  Remember  what  Amalek  has 
done  to  thee  in  the  road  when  thou 
wentest  forth  from  Egypt. 

59.  Who  met  thee  in  the  road  and 
smote  thy  rear,  even  those  that  were, 
feeble  behind  thee  when  thou  wast 
faint  and  weary. 

60.  Therefore  it  shall  be  when  the 
Lord  thy  God  shall  have  given  thee 
rest  from  all  thine  enemies  round 
about  in  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy 
God  giveth  thee  for  an  inheritance, 
to  possess  it,  that  thou  shalt  blot  out 
the  remembrance  of  Amalek  from  un- 
der heaven,  thou  shalt  not  forget  it. 

6L  And  the  king  who  shall  have 
pity  on  Amalek,  or  upon  his  memory 
or  upon  his  seed,  behold  I  will  re- 
quire it  of  him,  and  I  will  cut  him 
off  from  amongst  his  people. 

62.  And  Moses  wrote  all  these 
things  in  a  book,  and  he  enjoined  the 
children  of  Israel  respecting  all  these 
matters. 

CHAPTER  LXXXII. 

1.  And  the  children  of  Israel  pro- 
ceeded from  Rephidim  and  they  en- 


camped in  ihe  wilderness  of  Sinai, 
in  the  third  month  from  their  going 
forth  from  Egypt. 

2.  At  that  lime  came  Reuel  the 
Midianite,  the  fatiicr  in  law  of  Mo- 
ses, with  Zipporah  his  daughter  and 
her  two  sons,  for  he  had  heard  of  the 
wonders  of  the  Lord  which  he  had 
done  to  Israel,  that  he  had  delivered 
them  from  the  hand  of  Egypt. 

3.  And  Reuel  came  to  Moses  to 
the  wilderness  where  he  was  en- 
camped, where  was  the  mountain  of 
God. 

4.  And  Moses  went  forth  to  meet 
his  father  in  law  with  great  honor, 
and  all  Israel  was  with  him. 

5.  And  Reuel  and  his  children  re- 
mained amongst  the  Israelites  for 
many  days,  and  Reuel  knew  the 
Lord  from  that  day  forward. 

6.  And  in  the  third  month  from 
the  children  of  Israel's  departure 
from  Egypt,  on  the  sixth  day  thereof, 
the  Lord  gave  to  Israel  the  ten  com- 
mandments on  mount  Sinai. 

7.  And  all  Israel  heard  all  these 
commandments,  and  all  Israel  rejoiced 
exceedingly  in  the  Lord  on  that  day. 

8.  And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  rest- 
ed upon  mount  Sinai,  and  he  called 
to  Moses,  and  Moses  came  in  the 
midst  of  a  cloud  and  ascended  the 
mountain. 

9.  And  Moses  was  upon  tlie 
mount  forty  days  and  forty  nights  ; 
he  ate  no  bread  and  drank  no  water, 
and  the  Lord  instructed  him  in  the 
statutes  and  judgments  in  order  to 
teach  the  children  of  Israel. 

10.  And  the  Lord  wrote  the  ten 
commandments  which  he  had  com- 
manded the  children  of  Israel  upon 
two  tablets  of  stone,  which  he  gave 
to  Moses  to  command  the  children  of 
Israel. 

1 1 .  And  at  the  end  of  forty  days 


246 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


and  forty  nights,  when  the  Lord  had 
finished  speaking  to  Moses  on 
mount  Sinai,  then  the  Lord  gave  to 
Moses  the  tablets  of  stone,  written 
with  the  finger  of  God. 

12.  And  when  the  children  of  Is- 
rael saw  that  Moses  tarried  to  come 
down  from  the  mount,  they  gathered 
round  Aaron,  and  said,  as  for  this 
man  Moses  we  know  not  what  has 
become  of  him. 

13.  Now  therefore  rise  up,  make 
imto  us  a  god  who  shall  go  before  us, 
so  that  thou  shalt  not  die. 

14.  And  Aaron  was  greatly  afraid 
of  the  people,  and  he  ordered  them 
to  bring  him  gold  and  he  made  it  in- 
to a  molten  calf  for  the  people. 

15.  And  the  Lord  said  to  Moses, 
before  he  had  come  down  from  the 
mount,  get  thee  down  for  thy  people 
whom  thou  didst  bring  forth  from 
Egypt  have  corrupted  themselves. 

16.  They  have  made  to  themselves 
a  molten  calf,  and  have  bowed  down 
to  it,  now  therefore  leave  me,  that  I 
may  consume  them  from  off  the 
earth,  for  they  are  a  stiffnecked 
people. 

17.  And  Moses  besought  the 
countenance  of  the  Lord,  and  he 
prayed  to  the  Lord  for  the  people  on 
account  of  the  calf  which  they  had 
made,  and  he  afterward  descended 
from  the  mount  and  in  his  hands 
were  the  two  tablets  of  stone,  which 
God  had  given  him  to  command  the 
Israelites. 

18.  And  when  Moses  approached 
the  camp  and  saw  the  calf  which  the 
people  had  made,  the  anger  of  Mo- 
ses was  kindled  and  he  broke  the 
tablets  under  the  mount. 

19.  And  Moses  came  to  the  camp 
and  he  took  the  calf  and  burned  it 
with  fire,  and  ground  it  till  it  became 
fine  dust,  and  strewed  it  upon  the 


water  and  gave  it  to  the  Israelites  to 
drink. 

20.  And  there  died  of  the  people 
by  the  swords  of  each  other  about 
three  thousand  men  who  had  made 
the  calf. 

21.  And  on  the  morrow  Moses 
said  to  the  people,  I  will  go  up  to  the 
Lord,  peradventure  I  may  make 
atonement  for  your  sins  which  you 
have  sinned  to  the  Lord. 

22.  And  Moses  again  went  up  to 
the  Lord,  and  he  remained  with  the 
Lord  forty  days  and  forty  nights. 

23.  And  during  the  forty  days  did 
Moses  intreat  the  Lord  in  behalf 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  the 
Lord  hearkened  to  the  prayer  of 
Moses,  and  the  Lord  was  intreated 
of  him  in  behalf  of  Israel. 

24.  Then  spake  the  Lord  1o  j\Io- 
ses  to  hew  two  stone  tablets  and  to 
bring  them  up  to  the  Lord,  who 
would  write  upon  them  the  ten  com- 
mandments. 

25.  Now  Moses  did  so,  and  he 
came  down  and  hewed  the  two  tab- 
lets and  went  up  to  mount  Sinai  to 
the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  wrote  the  ten 
commandments  upon  the  tablets. 

26.  And  Moses  remained  yet  with 
the  Lord  forty  days  and  forty  nights, 
and  the  Lord  instructed  him  in  sta- 
tutes and  judgments  to  impart  to  Is- 
rael. 

27.  And  the  Lord  commanded  him 
respecting  the  children  of  Israel  that 
they  should  make  a  sanctuary  for 
the  Lord,  that  his  name  might  rest 
therein,  and  the  Lord  showed  him 
the  likeness  of  the  sanctuary  and  the 
likeness  of  all  its  vessels. 

28.  And  at  the  end  of  the  forty 
days,  Moses  came  down  from  the 
mount  and  the  two  tablets  were  in 
his  hand. 

29.  And  Moses  came  to  the  child- 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


247 


ren  of  Israel  and  spoke  to  ihem  all 
the  words  of  the  Lord,  and  he  taught 
them  laws,  statutes  and  judgnaents 
which  tiie  Lord  had  taught  him. 

30.  And  Moses  told  tiie  children 
of  Israel  the  word  of  the  Lord,  that 
a  sanctuary  should  be  made  for  him, 
to  dwell  amongst  the  children  of  Is- 
rael. 

3L  And  the  people  rejoiced  great- 
ly at  all  the  good  which  the  Lord  had 
spoken  to  them,  through  Moses,  and 
they  said,  we  will  do  all  that  the 
Lord  has  spoken  to  thee. 

32.  And  the  people  rose  up  like 
one  man  and  they  made  generous 
offerings  to  the  sanctuary  of  the 
Lord,  and  each  man  brought  the  of- 
fering of  the  Lord  for  the  work  of  the 
sanctuary,  and  for  all  its  service. 

33.  And  all  the  children  of  Israel 
brought  each  man  of  all  that  was 
found  in  his  possession  for  the  work 
of  the  sanctuary  of  the  Lord,  gold, 
silver  and  brass,  and  every  thing  that 
was  serviceable  for  the  sanctuary. 

34.  And  all  the  wise  men  who 
were  practised,  in  work  came  and 
made  the  sanctuary  of  the  Lord,  ac- 
cording to  all  that  the  Lord  had  com- 
manded, every  man  in  the  work  in 
which  he  had  been  practised  ;  and 
all  the  wise  men  in  heart  made  the 
sanctuary,  and  its  furniture  and  all 
the  vessels  for  the  holy  service,  as 
the  Lord  had  commanded  Moses. 

35.  And  the  work  of  the  sanctu- 
ary of  the  tabernacle  was  completed 
at  the  end  of  five  months,  and  the 
children  of  Israel  did  all  that  the 
Lord  had  commanded  Moses. 

36.  And  they  brought  the  sanctu- 
ary and  all  its  furniture  to  Moses ; 
like  unto  the  representation  which  the 
Lord  had  shown  to  Moses,  so  did 
the  children  of  Israel. 

37.  And  Moses  saw  the  work,  and 


behold  they  did  it  as  the  Lord  had 
commanded  him,  so  Moses  blessed 
them. 

CHAPTER  LXXXIII. 

\.  And  in  the  twelfth  month,  in  the 
twenty  third  day  of  the  month,  Mo- 
ses took  Aaron  and  his  sons,  and  he 
dressed  llicm  in  their  garments,  and 
anointed  them  and  did  unto  them  as 
the  Lord  had  commanded  him,  and 
Moses  brought  up  all  the  offerings 
which  the  Lord  had  on  that  day 
commanded  him. 

2.  Moses  afterward  took  Aaron 
and  his  sons  and  said  to  them,  for 
seven  days  shall  you  remain  at  the 
door  of  the  tabernacle,  for  thus  am  I 
commanded. 

3.  And  Aaron  and  his  sons  did  all 
that  the  Lord  had  commanded  them 
through  Moses,  and  they  remained 
for  seven  days  at  the  door  of  the  ta- 
bernacle. 

4.  And  on  the  eighth  day,  being 
the  first  day  of  the  first  month,  in  the 
second  year  from  the  Israelites'  de- 
parture from  Egypt,  Moses  erected 
the  sanctuary,  and  Moses  put  up  all 
the  furniture  of  the  tabernacle  and  all 
the  furniture  of  the  sanctuary,  and 
he  did  all  that  the  Lord  had  com- 
manded him. 

5.  And  Moses  called  to  Aaron  and 
his  sons,  and  they  brought  the  burnt 
offering  and  the  sin  offering  for  them- 
selves and  the  children  of  Israel,  as 
the  Lord  had  commanded  Moses. 

6.  On  that  day  the  two  sons  of 
Aaron,  Nadab  and  Abihu,  took  strange 
fire  and  brought  it  before  the  Lord 
who  had  not  commanded  them,  and 
a  fire  went  forth  from  before  the 
Lord,  and  consumed  them,  and  they 
died  before  the  Lord  on  that  day. 

7.  Then  on  the  day  when  Moses 


248 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


had  completed  to  erect  the  sanctuary, 
the  princes  of  the  children  of  Israel 
began  to  bring  their  offerings  before 
the  Lord  for  the  dedication  of  the 
altar. 

8.  And  they  brought  up  their  of- 
ferings each  prince  for  one  day,  a 
prince  each  day  for  twelve  days. 

9.  And  all  the  offerings  which  they 
brought,  each  man  in  his  day,  one 
silver  charger  weighing  one  hundred 
and  thirty  shekels,  one  silver  bowl 
of  seventy  shekels  after  the  shekel 
of  the  sanctuary,  both  of  them  full 
of  fine  flour,  mingled  with  oil  for  a 
meat  offering. 

10.  One  spoon,  weighing  ten  she- 
kels of  gold,  full  of  incense. 

11.  One  young  bullock,  one  ram, 
one  lamb  of  the  first  year  for  a  burnt 
offering, 

1 2.  And  one  kid  of  the  goats  for  a 
sin  offering. 

13.  And  for  a  sacrifice  of  peace 
offering,  two  oxen,  five  rams,  five 
he-goats,  five  lambs  of  a  year  old. 

14.  Thus  did  the  twelve  princes 
of  Israel  day  by  day,  each  man  in 
his  day. 

15.  And  it  was  after  this,  in  the 
thirteenth  day  of  the  month,  that 
Moses  commanded  the  children  of 
Israel  to  observe  the  Passover. 

1 6.  And  the  children  of  Israel  kept 
the  Passover  in  its  season  in  the  four- 
teenth day  of  the  month,  as  the  Lord 
had  commanded  Moses,  so  did  the 
children  of  Israel. 

17.  And  in  the  second  month,  on 
the  first  day  thereof,  the  Lord  spoke 
unto  Moses,  saying, 

18.  Number  the  heads  of  all  the 
males  of  the  children  of  Israel  from 
twenty  years  old  and  upward,  thou 
and  thy  brother  Aaron  and  the  twelve 
princes  of  Israel. 

19.  And  Moses  did  so,  and  Aaron 


came  with  the  twelve  princes  of  Is. 
rael,  and  they  numbered  the  children 
of  Israel  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai. 

20.  And  the  numbers  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  by  the  houses  of  their 
fathers,  from  twenty  years  old  and 
upward,  were  six  hundred  and  three 
thousand,  five  hundred  and  fifty. 

21.  But  the  children  of  Levi  were 
not  numbered  amongst  their  brethren 
the  children  of  Israel. 

22.  And  the  number  of  all  the 
males  of  the  children  of  Israel  from 
one  month  •  old  and  upward,  was 
twenty-two  thousand,  two  hundred 
and  seventy-three. 

23.  And  the  number  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Levi*  from  one  month  old 
and  above,  was  twenty-two  thousand. 

24.  And  Moses  placed  the  priests 
and  the  Levites  each  man  to  his  ser- 
vice and  to  his  burden  to  serve  the 
sanctuary  of  the  tabernacle,  as  the 
Lord  had  commanded  Moses. 

25.  And  on  the  twentieth  day  of 
the  month,  the  cloud  was  taken  away 
from  the  tabernacle  of  testimony. 

26.  At  that  time  the  children  of 
Israel  continued  their  journey  from 
the  wilderness  of  Sinai,  and  they  took 
a  journey  of  three  days,  and  the  cloud 
rested  upon  the  wilderness  of  Paran; 
there  the  anger  of  the  Lord  was  kin- 
dled against  Israel,  for  they  had  pro- 
voked the  Lord  in  asking  him  for 
meat,  that  they  might  eat. 

27.  And  the  Lord  hearkened  to 
their  voice,  and  gave  them  meat  which 
they  ate  for  one  month. 

28.  But  after  this  the  anger  of  the 
Lord  was  kindled  against  them,  and 
he  smote  them  with  a  great  slaugh- 
ter, and  they  were  buried  there  in 
that  place. 

29.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
called  that  place  Kebroth  Hattaavah, 

*  See  Numbers,  ch.  3,  v.  39. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


249 


because  there  they  buried  the  people 
that  lusted  flesh. 

30.  Aud  they  departed  from  Ke- 
broth  liattaavab  and  pitched  in  Ha- 
zeroth,  which  is  in  the  wilderness  of 
Paran. 

31.  And  whilst  the  children  of  Is- 
rael were  in  Hazeroth,  the  anger  of 
the  Lord  was  kindled  against  Miriam 
on  account  of  Moses,  and  she  became 
leprous,  iv/ute  as  snow. 

32.  And  she  was  confined  without 
the  camp  for  seven  days,  until  she  had 
been  received  again  after  her  leprosy. 

33.  The  children  of  Israel  after- 
ward departed  from  Hazeroth,  and 
pitched  in  the  end  of  the  wilderness 
of  Paran. 

34.  At  that  time,  the  Lord  spoke 
to  Moses  to  send  twelve  men  from 
the  children  of  Israel,  one  man  to  a 
tribe,  to  go  and  explore  the  land  of 
Canaan. 

35.  And  Moses  sent  the  twelve 
men,  and  they  came  to  the  land  of 
Canaan  to  search  and  examine  it, 
and  they  explored  the  whole  land 
from  the  wilderness  of  Sin  to  Rechob 
as  thou  coraesi  to  Chamoth. 

36.  And  at  the  end  of  forty  days 
they  came  to  Moses  and  Aaron,  and 
they  brought  him  word  as  it  was  in 
their  hearts,  and  ten  of  the  men 
brought  up  an  evil  report  to  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  of  the  land  which  they 
had  explored,  saying,  it  is  better  for 
us  to  return  to  Egypt  than  to  go  to 
this  land,  a  land  that  consumes  its 
inhabitants. 

37.  But  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun, 
and  Caleb  the  son  of  Jephuneh,  who 
were  of  those  that  explored  the  land, 
said,  the  land  is  exceedingly  good. 

38.  If  the  Lord  delight  in  us,  then 
he  will  bring  us  to  this  land  and  give 
it  to  us,  for  it  is  a  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey. 


39.  But  the  children  of  Israel 
would  not  hearken  to  them,  and  they 
hearkened  to  the  words  of  the  ten 
men  who  had  brought  up  an  evil 
report  of  the  land. 

40.  And  the  Lord  heard  the  mur- 
murings  of  the  children  of  Israel 
and  he  was  angry  and  swore,  saying, 

4L  Surely  not  one  man  of  this 
wicked  generation  shall  see  the  land 
from  twenty  years  old  and  upward 
excepting  Caleb  the  son  of  Jcplmeh 
and  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun. 

42.  But  surely  this  wicked  genera- 
tion shall  perish  in  this  wilderness, 
and  their  children  shall  come  to  the 
land  and  they  shall  possess  it ;  so  the 
anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled  against 
Israel,  and  he  made  them  wander  in 
the  wilderness  for  forty  years  until 
the  end  of  that  wicked  generation, 
because  they  did  not  follow  the  Lord. 

43.  And  the  people  dwelt  in  the 
wilderness  of  Param  a  long  time, 
and  they  afterward  proceeded  to  the 
wilderness  by  the  way  of  the  Red 
Sea. 

CHAPTER  LXXXIV. 

1.  At  that  time  Korah  the  son  of 
Jetzer  the  son  of  Kehath  the  son  of 
Levi,  took  many  men  of  the  children 
of  Israel,  and  they  rose  up  and 
quarrelled  with  Moses  and  Aaron  and 
the  whole  congregation. 

2.  And  the  Lord  was  angry  with 
them,  and  the  earth  opened  its  mouth, 
and  swallowed  them  up,  with  their 
houses  and  all  belonging  to  them,  and 
all  the  men  belongind  to  Korah. 

3.  And  after  this  God  made  the 
people  go  round  by  the  way  of 
Mount  Seir  for  a  long  time. 

4.  At  that  time  the  Lord  said  unto 
Moses,  provoke  not  a  war  against  the 
children  of  Esau,  for  I  will  not  give 


250 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


to  you  of  any  thing  belonging  to 
them,  as  much  as  the  sole  of  the 
foot  could  tread  upon,  for  I  have 
given  Mount  Seir  for  an  inheritance 
to  Esau. 

5.  Therefore  did  the  children  of 
Esau  fight  against  the  children  of 
Seir  in  former  times,  and  the  Lord 
had  delivered  the  children  of  Seir 
into  tlie  hands  of  the  children  of  Esau, 
and  destroyed  them  from  before 
them,  and  the  children  of  Esau  dwelt 
in  their  stead  unto  this  day. 

6.  Therefore  the  Lord  said  to  the 
children  of  Israel,  fight  not  against 
the  children  of  Esau  your  brethren, 
for  nothing  in  their  land  belongs  to 
you,  but  you  may  buy  food  of  them 
for  money  and  eat  it,  and  you  may 
buy  water  of  them  for  money  and 
drink  it. 

7.  And  the  children  of  Israel  did 
according  to  the  word  of  the  Lord. 

8.  And  the  children  of  Israel  went 
about  the  wilderness,  going  round 
by  the  way  of  Mount  Sinai  for  a 
long  time,  and  touched  not  the 
children  of  Esau,  and  they  continued 
in  that  district  for  nineteen  years. 

9.  At  that  time  died  Latinus  king 
of  the  children  of  Chittim,  in  the 
forty  fifth  year  of  his  reign,  which 
is  the  fourteenth  year  of  the  children 
of  Israel's  departure  from  Egypt. 

10.  And  they  buried  him  in  his 
place  which  he  had  built  for  himself 
in  the  land  of  Chittim,  and  Abimnas 
reigned  in  his  place  for  thirty  eight 
years. 

11.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
passed  the  boundary  of  the  children 
of  Esau  in  those  days,  at  the  end  of 
nineteen  years,  and  they  came  and 
passed  the  road  of  the  wilderness  of 
Moab. 

12.  And  the  Lord  said  to  Moses, 
besiege  not  Moab,  and  do  not   fight 


against  them,  for  I  will   give  you 
nothing  of  their  land. 

13.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
passed  the  road  of  the  wilderness  of 
Moab  for  nineteen  years,  and  they 
did  not  fight  against  them. 

14.  And  in  the  thirty  sixth  year 
of  the  children  of  Israel's  departure 
from  Egypt  the  Lord  smote  the  heart 
of  Sihon,  king  of  the  Amorites,  and 
he  waged  war,  and  went  forth  to 
fight  against  the  children  of  Moab. 

15.  And  Sihon  sent  messengers  to 
Beor  the  son  of  Janeas,  the  son  of 
Balaam,  counsellor  to  the  king  of 
Egypt,  and  to  Balaam  his  son,  to 
curse  Moab,  in  order  that  it  might  be 
delivered  into  the  hand  of  Sihon. 

16.  And  the  messengers  went  and 
brought  Beor  the  son  of  Janeas,  and 
Balaam  his  son,  from  Pethor  in  Meso- 
potamia, so  Beor  and  Balaam  his  son 
came  to  the  city  of  Sihon  and  they 
cursed  Moab  and  their  king  in  the  pre- 
sence of  Sihon  king  of  the  Amorites. 

17.  So  Sihon  went  out  with  his 
whole  army,  and  he  went  to  Moab 
and  fought  against  them,  and  he  sub- 
dued them,  and  the  Lord  delivered 
them  into  his  hands,  and  Sihon  slew 
the  king  of  Moab. 

18.  And  Sihon  took  all  the  cities 
of  Moab  in  the  battle  ;  he  also  took 
Heshbon  from  them,  for  Heshbon 
was  one  of  the  cities  of  Moab,  and 
Sihon  placed  his  princes  and  his 
nobles  in  Heshbon,  and  Heshbon  be- 
longed to  Sihon  in  those  days. 

19.  Therefore  the  parable  speak- 
ers Beor  and  Balaam  his  son  uttered 
these  words,  saying,  come  unto 
Heshbon,  the  city  of  Sihon  will  be 
built  and  established. 

20.  Woe  unto  thee  Moab !  thou  art 
lost,  0  people  of  Kemosh  !  behold  it 
is  wTitten  upon  the  book  of  the  law 
of  God. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


2&1 


21.  And  when  Sihon  had  conquer- 
ed Moab,  he  placed  guards  in  the 
cities  which  he  had  taken  from  Moab, 
and  a  considerable  number  of  the 
children  of  Moab  fell  in  battle  into  the 
hand  of  Sihon,  and  he  made  a  great 
capture  of  them,  sons  and  daughters, 
and  he  slew  their  king  ;  so  Sihon 
turned  back  to  his  own  land. 

22.  And  Sihon  gave  numerous 
presents  of  silver  and  gold  to  Beor 
and  Balaam  his  son,  and  he  dismissed 
them,  and  they  went  to  Mesopotamia 
to  their  home  and  country. 

23.  At  that  time  all  the  children 
of  Israel  passed  from  tiie  road  of  the 
wilderness  of  Moab,  and  returned 
and  surrounded  the  wilderness  of 
Edom. 

24.  So  the  whole  congregation 
came  to  the  wilderness  of  Sin  in  the 
first  month  of  the  fortieth  year  from 
their  departure  from  Egypt,  and  the 
children  of  Israel  dwelt  there  in 
Kadesh,  of  the  wilderness  of  Sin,  and 
Miriam  died  there  and  she  was  buried 
there. 

25.  At  that  lime  Moses  sent  mes- 
sengers to  Hadad  king  of  Edom,  say- 
ing, thus  says  thy  brother  Israel,  let 
me  pass  I  pray  thee  through  thy  land, 
we  will  not  pass  through  field  or  vine- 
yard, we  will  not  drink  the  water  of 
the  well ;  we  will  walk  in  the  king's 
road. 

26.  And  Edom  said  to  him,  thou 
shalt  not  pass  through  my  countrj/, 
and  Edom  went  forth  to  meet  the 
children  of  Israel  with  a  mighty 
people. 

27.  And  the  children  of  Esau  re- 
fused to  let  the  children  of  Israel 
pass  tlirough  their  land,  so  the  Is- 
raelites removed  from  them  and 
fought  not  against  them. 

2S.  For  before  this  the  Lord  had 
commanded  the  children  of  Israel, 


saying,  you  shall  not  fight  against  the 
children  of  Esau,  therefore  the  Is- 
raelites removed  from  them  and  did 
not  fight  against  tliem. 

29.  So  the  children  of  Israel  de- 
parted from  Kadesh,  and  all  the  peo- 
ple came  to  mount  Hor. 

30.  At  that  lime  the  Lord  said  to 
Moses,  tell  thy  brother  Aaron  that 
he  shall  die  there,  for  he  shall  not 
come  to  the  land  which  I  have  given 
to  the  children  of  Israel. 

31.  And  Aaron  went  up,  at  the 
command  of  the  Lord,  to  mount  Hor, 
in  the  fortieth  year,  in  the  fifth  month, 
in  the  first  day  of  the  month. 

32.  And  Aaron  was  one  hundred 
and  twenty  three  years  old  when  he 
died  in  mount  Hor. 

CHAPTER  LXXXV. 

1.  And  king  Arad  the  Canaanite, 
who  dwell  in  the  south,  heard  that 
the  Israelites  had  come  by  the  way 
of  the  spies,  and  he  arranged  his 
forces  to  fight  against  the  Israelites. 

2.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
were  greatly  afraid  of  him,  for  he 
had  a  great  and  heavy  army,  so  the 
children  of  Israel  resolved  to  return 
to  Egypt. 

3.  And  the  children  of  Israel  turn- 
ed back  about  the  distance  of  three 
days'  journey  unto  Maserath  Beni 
Jaakon,  for  they  were  greatly  afraid 
on  account  of  the  king  Arad. 

4.  And  the  children  of  Israel  would 
not  get  back  to  their  places,  so  they 
remained  in  Beni  Jaakon  for  thirty 
days. 

5.  And  when  the  children  of  Levi 
saw  that  the  children  of  Israel  would 
not  turn  back,  they  were  jealous  for 
the  sake  of  the  Lord,  and  they  rose 
up  and  fought  against  the  Israelites 
their  brethren,  and  slew  of  them  a 


252 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


great  body,  and  forced  them  to  turn 
back  to  their  place,  mount  Hor. 

6.  And  when  they  returned,  king 
Arad  was  still  arranging  his  host  for 
battle  against  the  Israelites. 

7.  And  Israel  vowed  a  vow,  say- 
ing, if  thou  wilt  deliver  this  people 
into  my  hand,  then  I  will  utterly  de- 
stroy their  cities. 

8.  And  the  Lord  hearkened  to  the 
voice  of  Israel,  and  he  delivered  the 
Canaanites  into  their  hand,  and  he 
utterly  destroyed  them  and  their 
cities,  and  he  called  the  name  of  the 
place  Hormah. 

9.  And  the  children  of  Israel  jour- 
neyed from  mount  Hor  and  pitched 
in  Oboth,  and  they  journeyed  from 
Oboth  and  they  pitched  at  Ije-aba- 
rim,  in  the  border  of  Moab. 

10.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
sent  to  Moab,  saying,  let  us  pass  now 
through  thy  land  into  our  place,  but 
the  children  of  Moab  would  not  suf- 
fer the  children  of  Israel  to  pass 
through  their  land,  for  the  children 
of  Moab  were  greatly  afraid  lest  the 
children  of  Israel  should  do  unto 
them  as  Sihon  king  of  the  Amorites 
had  done  to  them,  who  had  taken 
their  land  and  had  slain  many  of 
them. 

11.  Therefore  Moab  would  not 
suffer  the  Israelites  to  pass  through 
his  land,  and  the  Lord  commanded 
the  children  of  Israel,  saying  that 
thev^  should  not  fight  against  Moab, 
so  the  Israelites  removed  from  Moab. 

12.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
journeyed  from  the  border  of  Moab 
and  they  came  to  the  other  side  of 
Anion,  the  border  of  Moab,  between 
Moab  and  the  Amorites,  and  they 
pitched  in  the  border  of  Sihon,  king 
of  the  Amorites,  in  the  wilderness  of 
Kedemoth. 

13.  And  the  children  of  Israel  sent 


messengers  to    Sihon,    king   of  the 
Amorites,  saying, 

14.  Let  us  pass  through  thy  land, 
we  will  not  turn  into  the  fields  or  in- 
to the  vineyards,  we  will  go  along  by 
the  king's  highway  until  we  shall 
have  passed  thy  border,  but  Sihon 
would  not  suffer  the  Israelites  to 
pass. 

15.  So  Sihon  collected  all  the 
people  of  the  Amorites  and  went 
forth  into  the  wilderness  to  meet  the 
children  of  Israel,  and  he  fought 
against  Israel  in  Jahaz. 

16.  And  the  Lord  delivered  Sihon 
king  of  the  Amorites  into  the  hand 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  Israel 
smote  all  the  people  of  Sihon  with 
the  edge  of  the  sword  and  avenged 
the  cause  of  Moab. 

17.  And  the  children  of  Israel  took 
possession  of  the  land  of  Sihon  from 
Aram  unto  Jabuk,  unto  the  children 
of  Ammon,  and  they  took  all  the 
spoil  of  the  cities. 

IS.  And  Israel  took  all  these  cities, 
and  Israel  dwelt  in  all  the  cities  of 
the  Amorites. 

19.  And  all  the  children  of  Israel 
resolved  to  fight  against  the  children 
of  Ammon,  to  take  their  land  also. 

20.  So  the  Lord  said  to  the  child- 
ren of  Israel,  do  not  besiege  the 
children  of  Ammon,  neither  stir  up 
battle  against  them,  for  I  will  give 
nothing  to  you  of  their  land,  and  the 
children  of  Israel  hearkened  to  the 
word  of  the  Lord,  and  did  not  fight 
against  the  children  of  Ammon. 

21.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
turned  and  went  up  by  the  way  of 
Bashan  to  the  land  of  Og,  king  of 
Bashan,  and  Og  the  king  of  Bashan 
went  out  to  meet  the  Israelites  in 
battle,  and  he  had  with  him  many 
valiant  men,  and  a  very  strong  force 
from  the  people  of  the  Amorites. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


253 


22.  And  Og  king  of  Bashan  was  a 
very  powerful  man,  but  Naaron  his 
son  was  exceedingly  powerful,  even 
stronger  than  he  was. 

23.  And  Og  said  in  his  heart,  be- 
hold now  liie  whole  camp  of  Israel 
takes  up  a  space  of  three  parsa,*  now 
will  I  smite  them  at  once  without 
sword  or  spear, 

24.  And  Og  went  up  mount  Ja- 
haz  and  took  therefrom  one  large 
stone,  the  length  of  which  was  three 
parsa,  and  he  placed  it  on  his  head, 
and  resolved  to  throw  it  upon  the 
camp  of  the  children  of  Israel,  to 
smite  all  the  Israelites  with  that 
stone. 

25.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
came  and  pierced  the  stone  upon  the 
head  of  Og,  and  the  stone  fell  upon 
the  neck  of  Og  that  Og  fell  to  the 
earth  on  account  of  the  weight  of 
the  stone  upon  his  neck. 

26.  At  that  time  the  Lord  said  to 
the  children  of  Israel,  be  not  afraid 
of  him,  for  I  have  given  him  and  all 
his  people  and  all  his  land  into  your 
hand,  and  you  shall  do  to  him  as  you 
did  to  Sihon. 

27.  And  Moses  went  down  to  him 
with  a  small  number  of  the  children 
of  Israel,  and  Moses  smote  Og  with 
a  stick  at  the  ankles  of  his  feet  and 
smote  him. 

28.  The  children  of  Israel  after- 
ward pursued  the  children  of  Og  and 
all  his  people,  and  they  beat  and  de- 
stroyed them  till  there  was  no  rem- 
nant left  of  them. 

29.  Moses  afterward  sent  some  of 
the  children  of  Israel  to  spy  out  Jaa- 
zer,  for  Jaazer  was  a  very  famous 
city. 

30.  And  the  spies  went  to  Jaazer 
and  explored  it,  and  the  spies  trusted 

*Talmudical  term  for  four  miles,  each  mile 
consisting  of  two  thousand  cubits. 


in  the  Lord,  and  they  fought  against 
the  men  of  Jaazer. 

3L  And  these  men  took  Jaazer 
and  its  villages,  and  the  Lord  deliv- 
ered them  into  tlicir  hand,  and  they 
drove  out  the  Amorites  wlio  had  been 
there. 

32.  And  the  children  of  Israel  took 
the  land  of  the  two  kings  of  the  Am- 
orites, sixty  cities  which  were  on  the 
other  side  of  Jordan,  from  the  brook 
of  Anion  unto  Mount  Hermon. 

33.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
journeyed  and  came  into  the  plain  of 
Moab,  which  is  on  this  side  of  Jor- 
dan, by  Jericho. 

34.  And  the  children  of  Moab 
heard  all  the  evil  which  the  children 
of  Israel  had  done  to  the  two  kings 
of  the  Amorites,  to  Sihon  and  Og,  so 
all  the  men  of  Moab  were  greatly 
afraid  of  the  Israelites. 

35.  And  the  elders  of  Moab  said, 
behold  the  two  kings  of  the  Amorites, 
Sihon  and  Og,  who  were  more  pow- 
erful than  all  the  kings  of  the  earth, 
could  not  stand  against  the  children 
of  Israel,  how  then  can  we  stand  be- 
fore them  ? 

36.  Surely  they  sent  us  a  message 
before  now  to  pass  through  our  land 
on  their  way,  and  we  would  not  suffer 
them,  now  they  will  turn  upon  us 
with  their  heavy  swords  and  destroy 
us  ;  and  Moab  was  distressed  on  ac- 
count of  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
they  were  greatly  afraid  of  them,  and 
they  counselled  together  what  was  to 
be  done  to  the  children  of  Israel. 

37.  And  the  ciders  of  Moab  re- 
solved and  took  one  of  their  men, 
Balak  the  son  of  Zippor  the  Moab- 
ite,  and  made  him  king  over  them 
at  that  time,  and  Balak  was  a  very 
wise  man. 

38.  And  the  elders  of  Moab  rose 
up  and  sent  to  the  children  of  Midian 


254 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


to  make  peace  with  them,  for  a  great 
battle  and  enmity  had  been  in  those 
days  between  Moab  and  Midian,  from 
the  days  of  Hadad  the  son  of  Bedad 
king  of  Edom,  who  smote  Midian  in 
the  field  of  Moab,  unto  these  days. 

39.  And  the  children  of  Moab 
sent  to  the  children  of  Midian,  and 
they  made  peace  with  them,  and  the 
elders  of  Midian  came  to  the  land  of 
Moab  to  make  peace  in  behalf  of  the 
children  of  Midian. 

40.  And  the  elders  of  Moab  coun- 
selled with  the  elders  of  Midian 
what  to  do  in  order  to  save  their  lives 
from  Israel. 

41.  And  all  the  children  of  Moab 
said  to  the  elders  of  Midian,  now 
therefore  the  children  of  Israel  lick 
up  all  that  are  round  about  us,  as  the 
ox  licks  up  the  grass  of  the  field,  for 
thus  did  they  do  to  the  two  kings  of 
the  Amorites  who  are  stronger  than 
we  are. 

42.  And  the  elders  of  Midian  said 
to  Moab,  we  have  heard  that  at  tlie 
lime  when  Sihon  king  of  the  Amor- 
ites fought  against  you,  when  he  pre- 
vailed over  you  and  took  your  land, 
he  had  sent  to  Beor  the  son  of  Janeas 
and  to  Balaam  his  son  from  Mesopo- 
tamia, and  they  came  and  cursed  you ; 
therefore  did  the  hand  of  Sihon  pre- 
vail over  you,  that  he  took  your  land. 

43.  Now  therefore  send  you  also 
to  Balaam  his  son,  for  he  still  remains 
in  his  land,  and  give  him  his  hire, 
that  he  may  come  and  curse  all 
the  people  of  whom  you  are  afraid  ; 
so  the  elders  of  Moab  heard  this 
thing,  and  it  pleased  them  to  send  to 
Balaam  the  son  of  Beor. 

44.  So  Balak  the  son  of  Zippor 
king  of  Moab  sent  messengers  to 
Balaam,  saying, 

45.  Behold  there  is  a  people  come 
out  from  Egypt,  behold  they  cover 


the  face  of  the  earth,  and  they  abide 
over  against  me. 

46.  Now  therefore  come  and  curse 
this  people  for  me,  for  they  are  too 
mighty  for  me,  peradventure  I  shall 
prevail  to  fight  against  them,  and 
drive  them  out,  for  I  heard  that  he 
whom  thou  blessest  is  blessed,  and 
whom  thou  cursest  is  cursed. 

47.  So  the  messengers  of  Balak 
went  to  Balaam  and  brought  Balaam 
to  curse  the  people  to  fight  against 
Moab. 

48.  And  Balaam  came  to  Balak  to 
curse  Israel,  and  the  Lord  said  to 
Balaam,  curse  not  this  people  for  it 
is  blessed. 

49.  And  Balak  urged  Balaam  day 
by  day  to  curse  Israel,  but  Balaam 
hearkened  not  to  Balak  on  account  of 
the  word  of  the  Lord  which  he  had 
spoken  to  Balaam. 

50.  And  when  Balak  saw  that  Ba- 
laam would  not  accede  to  his  wish, 
he  rose  up  and  went  home,  and  Ba- 
laam also  returned  to  his  land  and 
he  went  from  there  to  Midian. 

5L  And  the  children  of  Israel 
journeyed  from  the  plain  of  Moab, 
and  pitched  by  Jordan,  from  Beth- 
jesimoth  even  unto  Abel-shiltim, 
at  the  end  of  the  plains  of  Moab. 

52.  And  when  the  children  of  Is- 
rael abode  in  the  plain  of  Shittim, 
they  began  to  commit  whoredom  with 
the  daughters  of  Moab, 

53.  And  the  children  of  Israel  ap- 
proached Moab,  and  the  children  of 
Moab  pitched  their  tents  opposite  to 
the  camp  of  the  children  of  Israel. 

54.  And  the  children  of  Moab  were 
afraid  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
the  children  of  Moab  took  all  their 
daughters  and  their  wives  of  beauti- 
ful aspect  and  comely  appearance, 
and  dressed  them  in  gold  and  silver 
and  costly  garments. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


265 


55.  And  the  children  of  Moab 
sealed  those  women  at  the  door  of 
their  tents,  in  order  that  the  children 
of  Israel  might  see  them  and  turn  to 
them,  and  not  fight  against  Moab. 

56.  And  all  the  children  of  Moab 
did  this  thing  to  the  childi-en  of  Is- 
rael, and  every  man  placed  his  wife 
and  daughter  at  the  door  of  his  tent, 
and  all  the  children  of  Israel  saw  the 
act  of  the  children  of  Moab,  and  the 
children  of  Israel  turned  to  the  daugh- 
ters of  Moab  aiM  coveted  them,  and 
they  went  to  them. 

57.  And  it  came  to  pass  that  when 
a  Hebrew  came  to  the  door  of  the 
tent  of  Moab,  and  saw  a  daughter  of 
Moab  and  desired  her  in  his  heart, 
and  spoke  with  her  at  the  door  of  the 
tent  that  which  he  desired,  whilst 
they  were  speaking  together  the  men 
of  the  tent  would  come  out  and  speak 
to  the  Hebrew  like  unto  these  words : 

58.  Surely  you  know  that  we  are 
brethren,  we  are  all  the  descendants 
of  Lot  and  the  descendants  of  Abra- 
ham his  brother,  wherefore  then  will 
you  not  remain  with  us,  and  where- 
fore will  you  not  eat  our  bread  and 
our  sacrifice  ? 

59.  And  when  the  children  of 
Moab  had  thus  overwhelmed  him 
with  their  speeches,  and  enticed  him 
by  their  flattering  words,  they  seated 
him  in  the  tent  and  cooked  and  sacri- 
ficed for  him,  and  he  ate  of  their  sa- 
crifice and  of  their  bread. 

60.  They  then  gave  him  wine  and 
he  drank  and  became  intoxicated,  and 
they  placed  before  him  a  beautiful 
damsel,  and  he  did  with  her  as  he 
liked,  for  he  knew  not  vohat  he  was 
doing,  as  he  had  drunk  plentifully  of 
wine. 

61 .  Thus  did  the  children  of  Moab 
to  Israel  in  that  place,  in  the  plain  of 
Shittim,  and  the  anger  of  the  Lord 


was  kindled  against  Israel  on  account 
of  this  matter,  and  he  sent  a  pesti- 
lence amongst  them,  and  there  died 
of  the  Israelites  twenty-four  thousand 
men. 

62.  Now  there  was  a  man  of  the 
children  of  Simeon  whose  name  was 
Zimri,  the  son  of  Salu,  who  connect- 
ed himself  with  the  Midianite  Cosbi, 
the  daughter  of  Zur,  king  of  Midian, 
in  the  sight  of  all  the  children  of  Is- 
rael. 

63.  And  Phineas  the  son  of  Ela- 
zer,  the  son  of  Aaron  the  priest,  saw 
this  wicked  thing  which  Zimri  had 
done,  and  he  took  a  spear  and  rose 
up  and  went  after  them,  and  pierced 
them  both  and  slew  them,  and  the 
pestilence  ceased  from  the  children 
of  Israel. 

CHAPTER  LXXXVI. 

1 .  At  that  time  after  the  pestilence, 
the  Lord  said  to  Moses,  and  to  Elazer 
the  son  of  Aaron  the  priest,  saying, 

2.  Number  the  heads  of  the  whole 
community  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
from  twenty  years  old  and  upward, 
all  that  went  forth  in  the  army. 

3.  And  Moses  and  Elazer  num- 
bered the  children  of  Israel  after  their 
families,  and  the  number  of  all  Israel 
was  seven  hundred  thousand,  seven 
hundred  and  thirty. 

4.  And  the  number  of  the  children 
of  Levi,  from  one  month  old  and  up- 
ward, was  twenty-three  thousand, 
and  amongst  these  there  was  not  a 
man  of  those  numbered  by  Moses 
and  Aaron  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai. 

5.  For  the  Lord  had  told  them  that 
they  would  die  in  the  wilderness,  so 
they  all  died,  and  not  one  had  been 
left  of  them  excepting  Caleb  the  son 
of  Jephuneh,  and  Joshua  the  son  of 
Nun. 


256 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


6.  And  it  was  after  this  that  the 
Lord  said  to  Moses,  say  unto  the 
children  of  Israel  to  avenge  upon 
Midian  the  cause  of  their  brethren 
the  children  of  Israel. 

7.  And  Moses  did  so,  and  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  chose  from  amongst 
them  twelve  thousand  men,  being 
one  thousand  to  a  tribe,  and  they 
went  to  Midian. 

8.  And  the  children  of  Israel  war- 
red against  Midian,  and  they  slew 
every  male,  also  the  five  princes  of 
Midian,  and  Balaam  the  son  of  Beor 
did  they  slay  with  the  sword. 

9.  And  the  children  of  Israel  took 
the  wives  of  Midian  captive,  with 
their  little  ones  and  their  cattle,  and 
all  belonging  to  them. 

10.  And  they  took  all  the  spoil 
and  all  the  prey,  and  they  brought  it 
to  Moses  and  to  Elazer  to  the  plains 
of  Moab. 

11.  And  Moses  and  Elazer  and  all 
the  princes  of  the  congregation  went 
forth  to  meet  them  with  joy. 

12.  And  they  divided  all  the  spoil 
of  Midian,  and  the  children  of  Israel 
had  been  revenged  upon  Midian  for 
the  cause  of  their  brethren  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel. 

CHAPTER  LXXXVII. 

1.  At  that  time  the  Lord  said  to 
Moses,  behold  thy  days  are  ap- 
proaching to  an  end,  take  now  Joshua 
the  son  of  Nun  thy  servant  and  place 
him  in  the  tabernacle,  and  I  will 
command  him,  and  Moses  did  so. 

2.  And  the  Lord  appeared  in  the 
tabernacle  in  a  pillar  of  cloud,  and 
the  pillar  of  cloud  stood  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  tabernacle. 

3.  And  the  Lord  commanded 
Joshua  the  son  of  Nun  and  said  unto 
him,  be  strong  and  courageous  for  thou 


shalt  bring  the  children  of  Israel  ta 
the  land  which  I  swore  to  give  them, 
and  I  will  be  with  thee. 

4.  And  Moses  said  to  Joshua,  be 
strong  and  courageous  for  thou  wilt 
make  the  children  of  Israel  inherit 
the  land,  and  the  Lord  will  be  with 
thee,  he  will  not  leave  thee  nor  for- 
sake thee,  be  not  afraid  nor  dis- 
heartened. 

5.  And  Moses  called  to  all  the 
children  of  Israel  and  said  to  them, 
you  have  seen  all  the  good  which 
the  Lord  your  God  has  done  for  you 
in  the  wilderness. 

6.  Now  therefore  observe  all  the 
words  of  this  law,  and  walk  in  the 
way  of  the  Lord  your  God,  turn  not 
from  the  way  which  the  Lord  has 
commanded  you,  either  to  the  right 
or  to  the  left. 

7.  And  Moses  taught  the  child- 
ren of  Israel  statutes  and  judgments 
and  laws  to  do  in  the  land  as  the 
Lord  had  commanded  him. 

8.  And  he  taught  them  the  way 
of  the  Lord  and  his  laws ;  behold  they 
are  written  upon  the  book  of  the  law 
of  God  which  he  gave  to  the  children 
of  Israel  by  the  hand  of  Moses. 

9.  And  Moses  finished  command- 
ing the  children  of  Israel,  and  the 
Lord  said  to  him,  saying,  go  up  to 
the  mount  Abarim  and  die  there, 
and  be  gathered  unto  thy  people  as 
Aaron  thy  brother  was  gathered. 

10.  And  Moses  went  up  as  the 
Lord  had  commanded  him,  and  he 
died  there  in  the  land  of  Moab  by 
the  order  of  the  Lord,  in  the  fortieth 
year  from  the  Israelites  going  forth 
from  the  land  of  Egypt. 

11.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
wept  for  Moses  in  the  plains  of 
Moab  for  thirty  days,  and  the  days  of 
weeping  and  mourning  for  Moses 
were  completed. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


257 


CHAPTER  LXXXVIII. 

1.  And  it  was  after  the  death  of 
Moses  that  the  Lord  said  to  Joshua 
the  son  of  Nun,  saying, 

2.  Rise  up  and  pass  the  Jordan 
to  the  land  which  I  have  given  to 
the  children  of  Israel,  and  thou  shalt 
make  the  children  of  Israel  inherit 
the  land. 

3.  Every  place  upon  which  the 
sole  of  your  feet  shall  tread  shall 
belong  to  you,  from  the  wilderness 
of  Lebanon  unto  the  great  river  the 
riverofPerath  shall  be  yourboundary. 

4.  No  man  shall  stand  up  against 
thee  all  the  days  of  thy  life  ;  as  I 
was  with  Moses,  so  will  I  be  with 
thee,  only  be  strong  and  of  good 
courage  to  observe  all  the  law  which 
Moses  commanded  thee,  turn  not 
from  the  way  either  to  the  right  or 
to  the  left,  in  order  that  thou  mayst 
prosper  in  all  that  thou  doest. 

5.  And  Joshua  commanded  the 
officers  of  Israel,  saying,  pass  through 
the  camp  and  command  the  people, 
saying,  prepare  for  yourselves  pro- 
visions, for  in  three  days  more  you 
will  pass  the  Jordan  to  possess  the 
land. 

6.  And  the  officers  of  the  children 
of  Israel  did  so,  and  they  commanded 
the  people  and  they  did  all  that 
Joshua  had  commanded. 

7.  And  Joshua  sent  two  men  to 
spy  out  the  land  of  Jericho,  and  the 
men  went  and  spied  out  Jericho. 

8.  And  at  the  end  of  seven  da)^s 
they  came  to  Joshua  in  the  camp  and 
said  to  him,  the  Lord  has  delivered 
the  whole  land  into  our  hand,  and 
the  inhabitants  thereof  are  melted 
with  fear  because  of  us. 

9.  And  it  came  to  pass  after  that, 
that  Joshua  rose  up  in  the  morning 
and   all  Israel  with  him,  and   they 

17 


journeyed  from  Shittim.  and  Joshua 
and  all  Israel  with  him  passed  the 
Jordan  ;  and  Joshua  was  eighty  two 
years  old  when  he  passed  the  Jordan 
with  Israel. 

10.  And  the  people  went  up  from 
Jordan  on  the  tenth  day  of  the  tirst 
month,  and  they  encamped  in  Gilgal 
at  the  eastern  corner  of  Jericho, 

1 1 .  And  the  children  of  Israel 
kept  the  Passover  in  Gilgal,  in  the 
plains  of  Jericho,  on  the  fourteenth 
day  of  the  month,  as  it  is  written  in 
the  law  of  Moses. 

12.  And  the  manna  ceased  at  that 
time  on  the  morrow  of  the  Passover, 
and  there  was  no  more  manna  for 
the  children  of  Israel,  and  they  ate 
of  the  produce  of  the  land  of  Canaan. 

13.  And  Jericho  was  entirely 
closed  against  the  children  of  Israel, 
no  one  came  out  or  went  in. 

14.  And  it  was  in  the  second 
month,  on  the  first  day  of  the  month, 
that  the  Lord  said  to  Joshua,  rise  up, 
behold  I  have  given  Jericho  into  thy 
hand  with  all  the  people  thereof;  and 
all  your  fighting  men  shall  go  round 
the  city,  once  each  day,  thus  shall 
you  do  for  six  days. 

15.  And  the  priests  shall  blow 
upon  trumpets,  and  when  you  shall 
hear  the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  all  the 
people  shall  give  a  great  shouting, 
that  the  w^alls  of  the  city  shall  fall 
down  ;  all  the  people  shall  go  up 
every  man  against  his  opponent. 

16.  And  Joshua  did  so  according 
to  all  that  the  Lord  had  commanded 
him. 

17.  And  on  the  seventh  day  they 
went  round  the  city  seven  times,  and 
the  priests  blew  upon  trumpets. 

18.  And  at  the  seventh  round, 
Joshua  said  to  the  people,  shout,  for 
the  Lord  has  delivered  the  whole 
city  into  our  hands. 


258 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


19.  Only  the  city  and  all  that 
it  contains  shall  be  accursed  to  the 
Lord,  and  keep  yourselves  from  the 
accursed  thing,  lest  you  make  the 
camp  of  Israel  accursed  and  trouble  it. 

20.  But  all  the  silver  and  gold 
and  brass  and  iron  shall  be  conse- 
crated to  the  Lord,  they  shall  come 
into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord. 

21 .  And  the  people  blew  upon 
trumpets  and  made  a  great  shouting, 
and  the  walls  of  Jericho  fell  down, 
and  all  the  people  went  up,  every 
man  straight  before  him,  and  they 
took  the  city  and  utterly  destroyed 
all  that  was  in  it,  both  man  and  wo- 
man, young  and  old,  ox  and  sheep 
and  ass,  with  the  edge  of  the  sword. 

22.  And  thev  burned  the  whole 
city  with  fire  ;  only  the  vessels  of 
silver  and  gold,  and  brass  and  iron, 
they  put  into  the  treasury  of  the 
Lord. 

23.  And  Joshua  swore  at  that  time, 
saying,  cursed  be  the  man  who  builds 
Jericho  ;  he  shall  lay  the  foundation 
thereof  in  his  first  born,  and  in  his 
youngest  son  shall  he  set  up  the  gates 
thereof. 

24.  And  Achan  the  son  of  Carmi, 
the  son  of  Zabdi,  the  son  of  Zerah, 
son  of  Judah,  dealt  treacherously  in 
the  accursed  thing,  and  he  took  of 
the  accursed  thing  and  hid  it  in  the 
tent,  and  the  anger  of  the  Lord  was 
kindled  against  Israel. 

25.  And  it  was  after  this  when  the 
children  of  Israel  had  returned  from 
burning  Jericho,  Joshua  sent  men  to 
spy  out  also  Ai,  and  to  fight  against  it. 

26.  And  the  men  went  up  and  spied 
out  Ai,  and  they  returned  and  said, 
let  not  all  the  people  go  up  with  thee 
to  Ai,  only  let  about  three  thousand 
men  go  up  and  smite  the  city,  for  the 
men  thereof  are  but  few. 

27.  And  Joshua  did  so,  and  there 


went  up  with  him  of  the  children  of 
Israel  about  three  thousand  men,  and 
they  fought  against  the  men  of  Ai. 

28.  And  the  battle  was  severe 
against  Israel,  and  the  men  of  Ai 
smote  thirty  six  men  of  Israel,  and 
the  children  of  Israel  fled  from  before 
the  men  of  Ai. 

29.  And  when  Joshua  saw  this 
thing,  he  tore  his  garments  and  fell 
upon  his  face  to  the  ground  before 
the  Lord,  he,  with  the  elders  of  Is- 
rael, and  they  put  dust  upon  their 
heads, 

30.  And  Joshua  said,  why  0  Lord 
didst  thou  bring  this  people  over 
the  Jordan  1  what  shall  I  say  after 
the  Israelites  have  turned  their  backs 
against  their  enemies  ? 

31.  Now  therefore  all  the  Canaan- 
ites,  inhabitants  of  the  land,  will  hear 
this  thing,  and  surround  us  and  cut 
off  our  name. 

32.  And  the  Lord  said  to  Joshua, 
why  dost  thou  fall  upon  thy  face  ? 
rise,  get  thee  off,  for  the  Israelites 
have  sinned,  and  taken  of  the  accurs- 
ed thing ;  I  will  no  more  be  with 
them  unless  they  destroy  the  accurs- 
ed thing  from  amongst  them. 

33.  And  Joshua  rose  up  and  as- 
sembled the  people,  and  brought  the 
Urim  by  the  order  of  the  Lord,  and 
the  tribe  of  Judah  was  taken,  and 
Achan  the  son  of  Carmi  was  taken. 

34.  And  Joshua  said  to  Achan,  tell 
me  my  son,  what  hast  thou  done,  and 
Achan  said,  I  saw  amongst  the  spoil 
a  goodly  garment  of  Shinar  and  two 
hundred  shekels  of  silver,  and  a 
wedge  of  gold  of  fifty  shekels  weight ; 
I  coveted  them  and  took  them,  and 
behold  they  are  all  hid  in  the  earth  in 
the  midst  of  the  tent. 

35.  And  Joshua  sent  men  who  went 
and  took  them  from  the  tent  of  Achan, 
and  they  brought  them  to  Joshua. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


259 


36.  And  Joshua  took  Achan  and 
these  utensils,  and  liis  sons  and  daugh- 
ters and  all  belonging  to  him,  and 
they  brought  them  into  the  valley  of 
Achor. 

37.  And  Joshua  burned  them  there 
with  fire,  and  all  the  Israelites  stoned 
Achan  with  stones,  and  they  raised 
over  him  a  heap  of  stones  ;  therefore 
did  he  call  that  place  the  valley  of 
Achor,  so  the  Lord's  anger  was  ap- 
peased, and  Joshua  afterward  came 
to  the  city  and  fought  against  it. 

38.  And  the  Lord  said  to  Joshua, 
fear  not,  neither  be  thou  dismayed, 
behold  I  have  given  into  thy  hand 
Ai,  her  king  and  her  people,  and  thou 
shalt  do  unto  them  as  thou  didst  to 
Jericho  and  her  king,  only  the  spoil 
thereof  and  the  cattle  thereof  shall 
you  take  for  a  prey  for  yourselves  ; 
lay  an  ambush  for  the  city  behind  it. 

39.  So  Joshua  did  according  to  the 
word  of  the  Lord,  and  he  chose  from 
amongst  the  sons  of  war  thirty  thou- 
sand valiant  men,  and  he  sent  them, 
and  they  lay  in  ambush  for  the  city. 

40.  And  he  commanded  them,  say- 
ing, when  you  shall  see  us  we  will 
flee  before  them  with  cunning,  and 
they  will  pursue  us,  you  shall  then 
rise  out  of  the  ambush  and  take  the 
city,  and  they  did  so. 

41.  And  Joshua  fought,  and  the 
men  of  the  city  went  out  toward  Is- 
rael, not  knowina:  that  they  were  ly- 
ing in  ambush  for  them  behind  the 
city. 

42.  And  Joshua  and  all  the  Israel- 
ites feigned  themselves  wearied  out 
before  them,  and  they  fled  by  the 
way  of  the  wilderness  with  cunning. 

43.  And  the  men  of  Ai  gathered 
all  the  people  who  were  in  the  city 
to  pursue  the  Israelites,  and  they 
went  out  and  were  drawn  awav  from 
the  city,  not  one  remained,  and  they 


left  the  city  open  and  pursued  the 
Israelites. 

44.  And  those  who  were  lyi'ig  in 
ambush  rose  up  out  of  their  places, 
and  hastened  to  come  to  the  city  and 
took  it  and  set  it  on  fire,  and  the  men 
of  Ai  turned  back,  and  behold  the 
smoke  of  the  city  ascended  to  the 
skies,  and  they  had  no  means  of  re- 
treating either  one  way  or  the  other. 

45.  And  all  the  men  of  Ai  were  in 
the  midst  of  Israel,  some  on  this  side 
and  some  on  that  side,  and  they  smote 
them  so  that  not  one  of  them  re- 
mained. 

46.  And  the  children  of  Israel  took 
Melosh  king  of  Ai  alive,  and  they 
brought  him  to  Joshua,  and  Joshua 
hanged  him  on  a  tree  and  he  died. 

47.  And  the  children  of  Israel  re- 
turned to  the  city  after  having  burned 
it,  and  they  smote  all  those  that  were 
in  it  with  the  edge  of  the  sword. 

48.  And  the  number  of  those  that 
had  fallen  of  the  men  of  Ai,  both  man 
and  woman,  was  twelve  thousand; 
only  the  cattle  and  the  spoil  of  the 
city  they  took  to  themselves,  accord- 
ing to  the  word  of  the  Lord  to  Joshua. 

49.  And  all  the  kings  on  this  side 
Jordan,  all  the  kings  of  Canaan, 
heard  of  the  evil  which  the  children 
of  Israel  had  done  to  Jericho  and  to 
Ai,  and  they  gathered  themselves  to- 
gether to  fight  against  Israel. 

50.  Only  the  inhabitants  of  Gibe- 
on  were  greatly  afraid  of  fighting 
against  the  Israelites  lest  they  should 
perish,  so  they  acted  cunningly,  and 
they  came  to  Joshua  and  to  all  Is- 
rael, and  said  unto  them,  we  have 
come  from  a  distant  land,  now  there- 
fore make  a  covenant  with  us. 

5L  And  the  inhabitants  of  Gibeon 
over-reached  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  the  children  of  Israel  made  a 
covenant  with  them,  and  they  made 


260 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


peace  with  them,  and  the  princes  of 
the  congregation  swore  unto  them, 
but  afterward  the  children  of  Israel 
knew  that  they  were  neighbors  to 
them  and  were  dwelling  amongst 
them. 

52.  But  the  children  of  Israel  slew 
them  not ;  for  they  had  sworn  to  them 
by  the  Lord,  and  they  became  hew- 
ers of  wood  and  drawers  of  water. 

53.  And  Joshua  said  to  them,  why 
did  you  deceive  me,  to  do  this  thing 
to  us?  and  they  answered  him,  say- 
ing, because  it  was  told  to  thy  ser- 
vants all  that  you  had  done  to  all  the 
kings  of  the  Amorites,  and  we  were 
greatly  afraid  of  our  lives,  and  we  did 
this  thing. 

54.  And  Joshua  appointed  them 
on  that  day  to  hew  wood  and  to  draw 
water,  and  he  divided  them  for  slaves 
to  all  the  tribes  of  Israel. 

55.  And  when  Adonizedek  king 
of  Jerusalem  heard  all  that  the  child- 
ren of  Israel  had  done  to  Jericho  and 
to  Ai,  he  sent  to  Hoham  king  of 
Hebron  and  to  Piram  king  of  Jar- 
muth,  and  to  Japhia  king  of  Lachish 
and  to  Deber  king  of  Eglon,  saying, 

56.  Come  up  to  me  and  help  me, 
that  we  may  smite  the  children  of 
Israel  and  the  inhabitants  of  Gibeon 
who  have  made  peace  with  the  child- 
ren of  Israel. 

57.  And  they  gathered  themselves 
together  and  the  five  kings  of  the 
Amorites  Avent  up  with  all  their 
camps,  a  mighty  people  numerous  as 
the  sand  of  the  sea  shore. 

58.  And  all  these  kings  came  and 
encamped  before  Gibeon,  and  they 
began  to  fight  against  the  inhabitants 
of  Gibeon,  and  all  the  men  of  Gibeon 
sent  to  Joshua,  saying,  come  up 
quickly  to  us  and  help  us,  for  all  the 
kings  of  the  Amorites  have  gathered 
together  to  fight  against  us. 


59.  And  Joshua  and  all  the  fight- 
ing people  went  up  from  Gilgal,  and 
Joshua  came  suddenly  to  them,  and 
smote  these  five  kings  with  a  great 
slaughter. 

60.  And  the  Lord  confounded  them 
before  the  children  of  Israel,  who 
smote  them  with  a  terrible  slaughter 
in  Gibeon,  and  pursued  them  along 
the  way  that  goes  up  to  Beth  Horoa 
unto  Makkedah,  and  they  fled  from 
before  the  children  of  Israel. 

61.  And  whilst  they  were  fleeing, 
the  Lord  sent  upon  them  hail  stones 
from  heaven,  and  more  of  them  died 
by  the  hail-stones,  than  by  the  slaugh- 
ter of  the  children  of  Israel. 

62.  And  the  children  of  Israel  pur- 
sued them,  and  they  still  smote  them 
in  the  road,  going  on  and  smiting  them, 

63.  And  when  they  were  smiting, 
the  day  was  declining  toward  evening, 
and  Joshua  said  in  the  sight  of  all 
the  people,  sun,  stand  thou  still  up- 
on Gibeon,  and  thou  moon  in  the 
valley  of  Ajalon,  until  the  nation  shall 
have  revenged  itself  upon  its  enemies. 

64.  And  the  Lord  hearkened  to 
the  voice  of  Joshua,  and  the  sun 
stood  still  in  the  midst  of  the  hea- 
vens, and  it  stood  still  six  and  thirty 
moments,*  and  the  moon  also  stood 
still  and  hastened  not  to  go  down  a 
whole  day. 

65.  And  there  was  no  day  like  that, 
before  it  or  after  it,  that  the  Lord 
hearkened  to  the  voice  of  a  man,  for 
the  Lord  fought  for  Israel. 

CHAPTER  LXXXIX. 

1.  Then  spoke  Joshua  this  song, 
on  the  day  that  the  Lord  had  given 

*  D'Pjf,  literally  times ;  what  proportion  of 
time,  I  cannot  understand  by  this  term,  never 
used  in  scripture  to  express  any  division  of  time, 
so  I  have  translated  it  '^  moments." 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


261 


the  Amorites  into  the  hand  of  Joshua 
and  the  children  of  Israel,  and  he 
said  in  the  sight  of  all  Israel, 

2.  Thou  hast  done  mighty  things, 
O  Lord,  thou  hast  performed  great 
deeds ;  who  is  like  unto  thee  ?  my 
lips  shall  sing  to  thy  name. 

3.  My  goodness  and  my  fortress, 
my  high  tower,  I  will  sing  a  new 
song  unto  thee,  with  thanksgiving 
will  I  sing  to  thee,  thou  art  the 
strength  of  my  salvation. 

4.  All  the  kings  of  the  earth  shall 
praise  thee,  the  princes  of  the  world 
shall  sing  to  thee,  the  children  of  Is- 
rael shall  rejoice  in  thy  salvation, 
they  shall  sing  and  praise  thy  power. 

5.  To  thee,  O  Lord,  did  we  con- 
fide ;  we  said  thou  art  our  God,  for 
thou  wast  our  shelter  and  strong 
tower  against  our  enemies. 

6.  To  thee  we  cried  and  were  not 
ashamed,  in  thee  we  trusted  and 
were  delivered  ;  when  we  cried  unto 
thee,  thou  didst  hear  our  voice,  thou 
didst  deliver  our  souls  from  the 
sword,  thou  didst  show  unto  us  thy 
grace,  thou  didst  give  unto  us  tliy 
salvation,  thou  didst  rejoice  our  hearts 
with  thy  strength. 

7.  Thou  didst  go  forth  for  our  sal- 
vation, with  thine  arm  thou  didst  re- 
deem thy  people  ;  thou  didst  answer 
us  from  the  heavens  of  thy  holiness, 
thou  didst  save  us  from  ten  thousands 
of  people. 

8.  The  sun  and  moon  stood  still 
in  heaven,  and  thou  didst  stand  in  thy 
wrath  against  our  oppressors  and 
didst  command  thy  judgments  over 
them. 

9.  All  the  princes  of  the  earth 
stood  up,  the  kings  of  the  nations 
had  gathered  themselves  together, 
ihey  were  not  moved  at  thy  pre- 
sence, they  desired  thy  battles. 

10.  Thou  didst  rise  against  them 


in  thine  anger,  and  didst  bring  down 
thy  wrath  upon  them  ;  thou  didst  de- 
stroy them  in  thine  anger,  and  cut 
them  otf  in  thine  heart. 

11.  Nations  have  been  consumed 
with  thy  fury,  kingdoms  have  de- 
clined because  of  thy  wrath,  thou 
didst  wound  kings  in  the  day  of  tlune 
anger. 

12.  Thou  didst  pour  out  thy  fury 
upon  them,  thy  wrathful  anger  took 
hold  of  them,  thou  didst  turn  their 
iniquity  upon  them,  and  didst  cut 
them  off  in  their  wickedness. 

13.  They  did  spread  a  trap,  they 
fell  therein,  in  the  net  they  hid  their 
foot  was  caught. 

14.  Thine  hand  was  ready  for  all 
thine  enemies  who  said,  througii  tiieir 
sword  they  possessed  the  land, 
through  their  arm  they  dwelt  in  the 
city  ;  thou  didst  fill  their  faces  with 
shame,  thou  didst  bring  their  horns 
down  to  the  ground,  thou  didst  terrify 
them  in  thy  wrath,  and  didst  destroy 
them  in  thine  anger, 

15.  The  earth  trembled  and  shook 
at  the  sound  of  thy  storm  over  them, 
thou  didst  not  withhold  their  souls 
from  death,  and  didst  bring  down 
their  lives  to  the  grave. 

16.  Thou  didst  pursue  them  in  thy 
storm,  thou  didst  consume  them  in 
thy  whirlwind,  thou  didst  turn  their 
rain  into  hail,  they  fell  in  deep  pits 
so  that  they  could  not  rise. 

]  7.  Their  carcasses  were  like  rub- 
bish cast  out  in  the  middle  of  the 
streets. 

18.  They  were  consumed  and  de- 
stroyed in  thine  anger,  thou  didst 
save  thy  people  with  thy  might. 

19.  Therefore  our  hearts  rejoice  in 
thee,  our  souls  exult  in  thy  salvation. 

20.  Our  tongues  shall  relate  thy 
might,  we  will  sing  and  praise  thy 
wondrous  works. 


262 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


21 .  For  thou  didst  save  us  from 
our  enemies,  thou  didst  dehver  us 
from  those  who  rose  up  against  us, 
thou  didst  destroy  them  from  before 
us  and  depress  them  beneath  our  feet. 

22.  Tiius  shall  all  thine  enemies 
perish  O  Lord,  and  the  wicked  shall 
be  like  chaff  driven  by  the  wind,  and 
thy  beloved  shall  be  like  trees  plant- 
ed by  the  waters. 

23.  So  Joshua  and  all  Israel  with 
him  returned  to  the  camp  in  Gilgal, 
after  having  smitten  all  the  kings,  so 
that  not  a  remnant  was  left  of  them. 

24.  And  the  five  kings  fled  alone 
on  fool  from  battle,  and  hid  them- 
selves in  a  cave,  and  Joshua  sought 
for  them  in  the  field  of  battle,  and 
did  not  find  them. 

25.  And  it  was  afterward  told  to 
Joshua,  saying,  the  kings  are  found 
and  behold  they  are  hidden  in  a  cave. 

26.  And  Joshua  said,  appoint  men 
to  be  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  to 
guard  them,  lest  they  take  them- 
selves away  ;  and  the  children  of  Is- 
rael did  so. 

27.  And  Joshua  called  to  all  Israel 
and  said  to  the  officers  of  battle,  place 
your  feet  upon  the  necks  of  these 
kings,  and  Joshua  said,  so  shall  the 
Lord  do  to  all  your  enemies. 

28.  And  Joshua  commanded  af- 
terward that  they  should  slay  the 
kings  and  cast  them  into  the  cave, 
and  to  put  great  stones  at  the  mouth 
of  the  cave. 

29.  And  Joshua  went  afterward  with 
all  the  people  that  were  with  him  on 
that  day  to  Makkedah,  and  he  smote 
it  with  the  edge  of  the  sword. 

30.  And  he  utterly  destroyed  the 
souls  and  all  belonging  to  the  city, 
and  he  did  to  the  king  and  people 
thereof  as  he  had  done  to  Jericho. 

31.  And  he  passed  from  there  to 
Libnah  and  he  fought  against  it,  and 


the  Lord  delivered  it  into  his  hand, 
and  Joshua  smote  it  with  the  edge  of 
the  sword  and  all  the  souls  thereof, 
and  he  did  to  it  and  to  the  king  there- 
of as  he  had  done  to  Jericho. 

32.  And  from  there  he  passed  on 
to  Lachish  to  fight  against  it,  and 
Horam  king  of  Gaza  went  up  to  as- 
sist the  men  of  Lachish,  and  Joshua 
smote  him  and  his  people  until  there 
was  none  left  to  him. 

33.  And  Joshua  took  Lachish  and 
all  the  people  thereof,  and  he  did  to 
it  as  he  had  done  to  Libnah. 

34.  And  Joshua  passed  from  there 
to  Eglon,  and  he  took  that  also,  and 
he  smote  it  and  all  the  people  there- 
of with  the  edge  of  the  sword. 

35.  And  from  there  he  passed  to 
Hebron  and  fought  against  it  and 
took  it  and  utterly  destroyed  it,  and 
he  returned  from  there  with  all  Israel 
to  Debir  and  fought  against  it  and 
smote  it  with  the  edge  of  the  sword. 

36.  And  he  destroyed  every  soul 
in  it,  he  left  none  remaining,  and  he 
did  to  it  and  the  king  thereof  as  he 
had  done  to  Jericho. 

37.  And  Joshua  smote  all  the  kings 
of  the  Amorites  from  Kadesh-barnea 
to  Azah,  and  he  took  their  country  at 
once,  for  the  Lord  had  fought  for  Is 
rael. 

38.  And  Joshua  with  all  Israel 
came  to  the  camp  to  Gilgal. 

39.  When  at  that  time  Jabin  king 
of  Chazor  heard  all  that  Joshua  had 
done  to  the  kings  of  the  Amorites, 
Jabin  sent  to  Jobat  king  of  Midian, 
and  to  Laban  king  of  Shimron,  to 
Jephal  king  of  Achshaph,  and  to  all 
the  kings  of  the  Amorites,  saying, 

40.  Come  quickly  to  us  and  help 
us,  that  we  may  smite  the  children 
of  Israel,  before  thev  come  upon  us 
and  do  unto  us  as  they  have  done  to 
the  other  kings  of  the  Amorites. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


263 


41.  And  all  these  kings  hearkened 
to  the  words  of  Jabin,  king  of  Cha- 
zor,  and  they  went  forth  with  all 
their  camps,  seventeen  kings,  and 
their  people  were  as  numerous  as  the 
sand  on  the  sea  shore,  together  with 
horses  and  chariots  innumerable,  and 
they  came  and  pitched  together  at 
the  waters  of  Merom,  and  they  were 
met  together  to  fight  against  Israel. 

42.  And  the  Lord  said  to  Joshua, 
fear  them  not,  for  to  morrow  about 
this  time  I  will  deliver  them  up  all 
slain  before  you,  thou  shall  hough  their 
horses  and  burn  their  chariots  with  fire. 

43.  And  Joshua  with  all  the  men  of 
war  came  suddenly  upon  them  and 
smote  them,  and  they  fell  into  their 
hands,  for  the  Lord  had  delivered  them 
mto  the  hand  of  the  children  of  Israel. 

44.  So  the  children  of  Israel  pur- 
sued all  these  kings  with  their  camps, 
and  smote  them  until  there  was  none 
left  of  them,  and  Joshua  did  to  them 
as  the  Lord  had  spoken  to  him. 

45.  And  Joshua  returned  at  that 
time  to  Chazor  and  smote  it  with  the 
sword  and  destroyed  every  soul  in 
it,  and  burned  it  with  fire,  and  from 
Chazor,  Joshua  passed  to  Shimron 
and  smote  it  and  utterly  destroyed  it. 

46.  From  there  he  passed  to  Ach- 
shaph  and  he  did  to  it  as  he  had  done 
to  Shimron. 

47.  From  there  he  passed  to  Adu- 
1am  and  he  smote  all  the  people  in  it, 
and  he  did  to  Adulam  as  he  had  done 
to  Achshaph  and  to  Shimron. 

48.  And  he  passed  from  them  to 
all  the  cities  of  the  kings  which  he 
had  smitten,  and  he  smote  all  the 
people  that  were  left  of  them  and  he 
utterly  destroyed  them. 

49.  Only  their  booty  and  cattle 
the  Israelites  took  to  themselves  as 
a  prey,  but  every  human  being  they 
smote,  they  suffered  not  a  soul  to  live. 


50.  As  the  Lord  had  commanded 
Moses  so  did  Joshua  and  all  Israel, 
they  failed  not  in  any  thing. 

51.  So  Joshua  and  all  the  children 
of  Israel  smote  the  whole  land  of 
Canaan  as  the  Lord  had  commanded 
them,  and  smote  all  their  kings,  being 
thirty  and  one  kings,  and  the  child- 
ren of  Israel  took  their  whole  country. 

52.  Besides  the  kingdoms  of 
Sihon  and  Og  which  are  on  the  other 
side  Jordan,  of  which  Moses  had 
smitten  many  cities,  and  Moses  gave 
them  to  the  Reubenites  and  the 
Gadites  and  to  half  the  tribe  of 
Manasseh. 

53.  And  Joshua  smote  all  the  kings 
that  were  on  this  side  Jordan  to  the 
west,  and  gave  them  for  an  inhei'i- 
tance  to  the  nine  tribes  and  to  the 
half  tribe  of  Israel. 

54.  For  five  years  did  Joshua 
carry  on  the  war  with  these  kings, 
and  he  gave  their  cities  to  the  Israel- 
ites, and  the  land  became  tranquil 
from  battle  throughout  the  cities  of 
the  Amorites  and  the  Canaanites. 

CHAPTER  XC. 

1.  At  that  time  in  the  fifth  year 
after  the  children  of  Israel  had  passed 
over  Jordan,  after  the  children  of 
Israel  had  rested  from  their  war  with 
the  Canaanites,  at  that  time  great 
and  severe  battles  arose  between 
Edom  and  the  children  of  Chittim, 
and  the  children  of  Chittim  fought 
against  Edom. 

2.  And  Abianus  king  of  Chittim 
went  forth  in  that  year,  that  is  in  the 
thirty  first  year  of  his  reign,  and  a 
great  force  with  him  of  the  mighty 
men  of  the  children  of  Chittim,  and 
he  went  to  Seir  to  fight  against  the 
children  of  Esau. 

3.  And  Hadad  the  king  of  Edom 


264 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


heard  of  his  report,  and  he  went  forth 
to  meet  him  with  a  heavy  people  and 
strong  force,  and  engaged  in  battle 
with  him  in  the  field  of  Edom. 

4.  And  the  hand  of  Chittim  pre- 
vailed over  the  children  of  Esau,  and 
the  children  of  Chittim  slew  of  the 
children  of  Esau  two  and  twenty 
thousand  men,  and  all  the  children 
of  Esau  fled  from  before  them. 

5.  And  the  children  of  Chittim 
pursued  them  and  they  reached  Ha- 
dad  king  of  Edom,  who  was  running 
before  them,  and  they  caught  him 
alive,  and  brought  him  to  Abianus 
king  of  Chittim. 

6.  And  Abianus  ordered  him  to 
be  slain,  and  Hadad  king  of  Edom 
died  in  the  forty  eighth  year  of  his 
reign. 

7.  And  the  children  of  Chittim 
continued  their  pursuit  of  Edom,  and 
they  smote  them  with  a  great  slaugh- 
ter and  Edom  became  subject  to  the 
children  of  Chittim. 

8.  And  the  children  of  Chittim 
ruled  over  Edom,  and  Edom  became 
under  the  hand  of  the  children  of 
Chittim  and  became  one  kingdom 
from  that  day. 

9.  And  from  that  time  they  could 
no  more  lift  up  their  heads,  and  their 
kingdom  became  one  with  the  child- 
ren of  Chittim. 

10.  And  Abianus  placed  officers 
in  Edom  and  all  the  children  of  Edom 
became  subject  and  tributary  to 
Abianus,  and  Abianus  turned  back 
to  his  own  land,  Chittim. 

11.  And  when  he  returned  he 
renewed  his  government  and  built 
for  himself  a  spacious  and  fortified 
palace  for  a  royal  residence,  and 
reigned  securely  over  the  children 
of  Chittim  and  over  Edom. 

12.  In  those  days,  after  the  child- 
ren of  Israel  had  driven  away  all  the 


Canaanites    and    Amorites,   Joshua 
was  old  and  advanced  in  years. 

13.  And  the  Lord  said  to  Joshua, 
thou  art  old,  advanced  in  hfe,  and  a 
great  part  of  the  land  remains  to  be 
possessed. 

14.  Now  therefore  divide  this  land 
for  an  inheritance  to  the  nine  tribes 
and  to  the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh, 
and  Joshua  rose  up  and  did  as  the 
Lord  had  spoken  to  him. 

15.  And  he  divided  the  whole  land 
to  the  tribes  of  Israel  as  an  inherit- 
ance, according  to  their  divisions. 

16.  But  to  the  tribe  of  Levi  he 
gave  no  inheritance,  the  offerings  of 
the  Lord  are  their  inheritance  as  the 
Lord  had  spoken  of  them  by  the 
hand  of  Moses. 

17.  And  Joshua  gave  Mount  He- 
bron to  Caleb  the  son  of  Jephuneh, 
one  portion  above  his  brethren,  as 
the  Lord  had  spoken  through  Mo- 
ses. 

18.  Therefore  Hebron  became  an 
inheritance  to  Caleb  and  his  children 
unto  this  day. 

19.  And  Joshua  divided  the  whole 
land  by  lots  to  all  Israel  for  an  in- 
heritance, as  the  Lord  had  com- 
manded him. 

20.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
gave  cities  to  the  Levites  from  their 
own  inheritance,  and  suburbs  for 
their  cattle,  and  property,  as  the 
Lord  had  commanded  Moses  so  did 
the  children  of  Israel,  and  they 
divided  the  land  by  lot  whether  great 
or  small. 

21.  And  they  went  to  inherit  the 
land  according  to  their  boundaries, 
and  the  children  of  Israel  gave  to 
Joshua  the  son  of  Nun  an  inheritance 
amongst  them. 

22.  By  the  word  of  the  Lord  did 
they  give  to  him  the  city  which  he 
required,  Timnath-serach  in  mount 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


265 


Ephraim,  and  he  built  the  city  and 
dwelt  therein. 

23.  These  are  the  inheritances 
which  Elazer  the  priest  and  Joshua 
the  son  of  Nun  and  the  heads  of  the 
fathers  of  the  tribes  portioned  out  to 
the  children  of  Israel  by  lot  in  Sinloh, 
before  the  Lord,  at  the  door  of  the 
tabernacle,  and  they  left  off  dividing 
the  land. 

24.  And  the  Lord  gave  the  land 
to  the  Israelites,  and  they  possessed 
it  as  the  Lord  had  spoken  to  thena, 
and  as  the  Lord  had  sworn  to  their 
ancestors. 

25.  And  the  Lord  gave  to  the 
Israelites  rest  from  all  their  enemies 
around  them,  and  no  man  stood  up 
against  them,  and  the  Lord  delivered 
all  their  enemies  into  their  hands, 
and  not  one  thing  failed  of  all  the 
good  which  the  Lord  had  spoken  to 
the  children  of  Israel,  yea  the  Lord 
performed  every  thing. 

26.  And  Joshua  called  to  all  the 
children  of  Israel  and  he  blessed  them, 
and  commanded  them  to  serve  the 
Lord,  and  he  afterward  sent  them 
away,  and  they  went  each  inan  to 
his  city,  and  each  man  to  his  inheri- 
tance. 

27.  And  the  children  of  Israel 
served  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  Jo- 
shua, and  the  Lord  gave  them  rest 
from  all  around  them,  and  they  dwelt 
securely  in  their  cities, 

28.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  those 
days,  that  Abianus  king  of  Chittim 
died,  in  the  thirty  eighth  year  of  his 
reign,  that  is  the  seventh  year  of  his 
reign  over  Edom,  and  they  buried 
him  in  his  place  which  he  had  built 
for  himself,  and  Latinus  reigned  in 
his  stead  fifty  years. 

29.  And  during  his  reign  he  brought 
forth  an  army,  and  he  went  and  fought 
against  the  inhabitants  of  Britannia 


and  Kernania,*  tlie  children  of  Elisha 
son  of  Javan,  and  lie  prevailed  over 
them  and  made  them  tributary. 

30.  He  then  heard  that  Edom  had 
revolted  from  under  the  hand  of  Chit- 
tim, and  Latinus  went  to  them  and 
smote  them  and  subdued  them,  and 
placed  them  under  the  hand  of  the 
children  of  Chittim,  and  Edom  be- 
came one  kingdom  witii  the  children 
of  Ciiittim  all  the  days. 

31.  And  for  many  years  there  was 
no  king  in  Edom,  and  their  govern- 
ment was  with  the  children  of  Chit- 
tim and  their  king. 

32.  And  it  was  in  the  twenty  sixth 
year  after  the  children  of  Israel  had 
passed  the  Jordan,  that  is  the  sixty 
sixth  year  after  the  children  of  Israel 
had  departed  from  Egypt,  that  Joshua 
was  old,  advanced  in  years,  being 
one  hundred  and  eight  years  old  in 
those  days. 

33.  And  Joshua  called  to  all  Is- 
rael, to  their  elders,  their  judges  and 
officers,  after  the  Lord  had  given  to 
all  the  Israelites  rest  from  all  their 
enemies  round  about,  and  Joshua 
said  to  the  elders  of  Israel,  and  to 
their  judges,  behold  I  am  old,  ad- 
vanced in  years,  and  you  have  seen 
what  the  Lord  has  done  to  all  the 
nations  whom  he  has  driven  away 
from  before  you,  for  it  is  the  Lord 
who  has  fought  for  you. 

34.  Now  therefore  strengthen 
yourselves  to  keep  and  to  do  all  the 
words  of  the  law  of  Moses,  not  to 
deviate  from  it  to  the  riglit  or  to  the 
left,  and  not  to  come  amongst  those 
nations  who  are  left  in  the  land  ;  nei- 
ther shall  you  make  mention  of  the 
name  of  their  gods,  but  you  shall 
cleave  to  the  Lord  your  God,  as  you 
have  done  to  this  day. 

*  N>3r3i  N'joia,  probably  names  of  places  in 
ancient  Greece. 


266 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


35.  And  Joshua  greatly  exhorted 
the  children  of  Israel  to  serve  the 
Lord  all  their  days. 

36.  And  all  the  Israelites  said,  we 
will  serve  the  Lord  our  God  all  our 
days,  we  and  our  children,  and  our  chil- 
dren's children,  and  our  seed  for  ever. 

37.  And  Joshua  made  a  covenant 
with  the  people  on  that  day,  and  he 
sent  away  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
they  went  each  man  to  his  inheritance 
and  to  his  city. 

38.  And  it  was  in  those  days,  when 
the  children  of  Israel  were  dwelling 
securely  in  their  cities,  that  they  bu- 
ried the  coffins  of  the  tribes  of  their 
ancestors,  which  they  had  brought 
up  from  Egypt,  each  man  in  the  in- 
heritance of  his  children,  the  twelve 
sons  of  Jacob  did  the  children  of  Is- 
rael bury,  each  man  in  the  possession 
of  his  children. 

39.  And  these  are  the  names  of 
the  cities  wherein  they  buried  the 
twelve  sons  of  Jacob,  whom  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  had  brought  up  from 
Egypt. 

40.  And  they  buried  Reuben  and 
Gad  on  this  side  Jordan,  in  Romia, 
which  Moses  had  given  to  their  chil- 
dren. 

41.  And  Simeon  and  Levi  they 
buried  in  the  city  Mauda,  which  he 
had  given  to  the  children  of  Simeon, 
and  the  suburb  of  the  city  was  for  the 
children  of  Levi. 

42.  And  Judah  they  buried  in  the 
city  of  Benjamin  opposite  Bethle- 
hem. 

43.  And  the  bones  of  Issachar  and 
Zebulun  they  buried  in  Zidon,  in 
the  portion  which  fell  to  their  chil- 
dren. 

44.  And  Dan  was  buried  in  the 
city  of  his  children  in  Eshtael,  and 
Naphtali  and  Aslier  they  buried  in 
Kadesh-naphtali,  each   man   in    his 


place  which  he  had  given  to  his  chil- 
dren. 

45.  And  the  bones  of  Joseph  they 
buried  in  Shechem,  in  the  part  of  the 
field  which  Jacob  had  purchased  from 
Hamor,  and  which  became  to  Joseph 
for  an  inheritance. 

46.  And  they  buried  Benjamin  in 
Jerusalem  opposite  the  Jebusite, 
which  was  given  to  the  children  of 
Benjamin  ;  the  children  of  Israel  bu- 
ried their  fathers  each  man  in  the 
city  of  his  children. 

47.  And  at  the  end  of  two  years, 
Joshua  the  son  of  Nun  died,  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  years  old,  and  the  time 
which  Joshua  judged  Israel  was 
twenty  eight  years,  and  Israel  served 
the  Lord  all  the  days  of  his  life. 

48.  And  the  other  affairs  of  Joshua 
and  his  battles  and  his  reproofs  with 
which  he  reproved  Israel,  and  all 
which  he  had  commanded  them,  and 
the  names  of  the  cities  which  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  possessed  in  his  days, 
behold  they  are  written  in  the  book 
of  the  words  of  Joshua  to  the  children 
of  Israel,  and  in  the  book  of  the  wars 
of  the  Lord,  which  Moses  and  Joshua 
and  the  children  of  Israel  had  writ- 
ten. 

49.  And  the  children  of  Israel  bu- 
ried Joshua  in  the  border  of  his  in- 
heritance, in  Timnath-serach,  which 
was  given  to  him  in  mount  Ephraim, 

50.  And  Elazer  the  son  of  Aaron 
died  in  those  days,  and  they  buried 
him  in  a  hill  belonging  to  Phineas 
his  son,  which  was  given  him  in 
mount  Ephraim. 

CHAPTER  XCI. 

1.  At  that  time,  after  the  death  of 
Joshua,  the  children  of  the  Canaan 
ites  Avere   still  in  the  land,,  and  the 
Israelites  resolved  to  drive  them  out. 


THE  BOOK  OF  JASHER. 


267 


2.  And  the  children  of  Israel  asked 
of  the  Lord,  saying,  who  shall  first 
go  up  for  us  to  the  Canaanites  to  fight 
against  them  ?  and  the  Lord  said, 
Judah  shall  go  up. 

3.  And  the  children  of  Judah  said 
to  Simeon,  go  up  with  us  into  our 
lot,  and  we  will  fight  against  the 
Canaanites  and  we  likewise  will  go 
up  with  you,  in  your  lot,  so  the 
children  of  Simeon  went  with  the 
children  of  Judah. 

4.  And  the  children  of  Judah  went 
up  and  fought  against  the  Canaanites, 
so  the  Jjord  delivered  the  Canaan- 
ites into  the  hands  of  the  children  of 
Judah,  and  they  smote  them  in  Be- 
zek,  ten  thousand  men. 

5.  And  they  fought  with  Adoni- 
bezek  in  Bezek,  and  he  fled  from  be- 
fore them,  and  they  pursued  him  and 
caught  him,  and  they  took  hold  of 
him  and  cut  off  his  thumbs  and  great 
toes. 

6.  And  Adoni-bezek  said,  three 
score  and  ten  kings  having  their 
thumbs  and  great  toes  cut  off,  ga- 
thered their  meat  under  my  table,  as 
I  have  done,  so  God  has  requited 
me,  and  they  brought  him  to  Jeru- 
salem and  he  died  there. 

7.  And  the  children  of  Simeon 
went  with  the  children  of  Judah,  and 
they  smote  the  Canaanites  with  the 
edge  of  the  sword. 

8.  And  the  Lord  was  with  the 
children  of  Judah,  and  they  possess- 
ed the  mountain,  and  the  children 
of  Joseph  went  up  to  Bethel,  the 
same  is  Luz,  and  the  Lord  was  with 
them. 

9.  And  the  children  of  Joseph 
spied  out  Bethel,  and  the  watchmen 
saw  a  man  going  forth  from  the  city, 
and  they  caught  him  and  said  unto 
him,  show  us  now  the  entrance  of  the 

THE 


city  and  we  will  show  kindness  to 
thee. 

10.  And  that  man  showed  them  the 
entrance  of  the  city,  and  the  child- 
ren of  Joseph  came  and  smote  the 
city  with  the  edge  of  the  sword. 

1 1 .  And  the  man  with  his  family 
they  sent  away,  and  he  went  to  the 
Hittites  and  he  built  a  city,  and  he 
called  the  name  thereof  Luz,  so  all 
the  Israelites  dwelt  in  their  cities, 
and  the  children  of  Israel  dwelt  in 
their  cities,  and  the  children  of  Is- 
rael served  the  Lord  all  the  days  of 
Joshua,  and  all  the  days  of  the  elders, 
who  had  lengthened  their  days  after 
Joshua,  and  saw  the  great  work  of 
the  Lord,  which  he  had  performed 
for  Israel. 

12.  And  the  elders  judged  Israel 
after  the  death  of  Joshua  for  seven- 
teen years. 

13.  And  all  the  elders  also  fought 
the  battles  of  Israel  against  the  Ca- 
naanites, and  the  Lord  drove  the  Ca- 
naanites from  before  the  children  of 
Israel,  in  order  to  place  the  Israelites 
in  their  land. 

14.  And  he  accomplished  all  the 
words  which  he  had  spoken  to  Abra- 
ham, Isaac  and  Jacob,  and  the  oath 
which  he  had  sworn,  to  give  to  them 
and  to  their  children,  the  land  of  the 
Canaanites. 

15.  And  the  Lord  gave  to  the 
children  of  Israel  the  whole  land  of 
Canaan,  as  he  had  sworn  to  their 
ancestors,  and  the  Lord  gave  them 
rest  from  those  around  thejn,  and  the 
children  of  Israel  dwelt  securely  in 
their  cities. 

16.  Blessed  be  the  Lord  for  ever, 
amen,  and  amen. 

17.  Strengthen  yourselves,  and  let 
the  hearts  of  all  you  that  trust  in  the 
Lord  be  of  good  courage. 

END 


Date  Due 

SE24V 

JBi^^M^M 

[ 

T    .,.^^^„,^ 

Jtc^^ 

^90 

f 

:liiliiii 


Princeton  Theologic.il  Ser 


1    1012  01121   9708 


iliiijiiillji  pil 


if 
m 


